Chinese Degree Complements — 程度补语 with 得 (他跑得很快)

A degree or descriptive complement (程度补语 chéng dù bǔ yǔ, also called 状态补语 zhuàng tài bǔ yǔ) describes how an action is done or to what degree a quality holds. The marker 得 links a verb or adjective to the description: 他跑得很快 (he runs very fast), 她说得很好 (she speaks very well), 我累得说不出话 (I am so tired I cannot speak).

Chinese does not inflect adjectives for intensity. Instead it uses 得 to attach a follow-up phrase that says how much or in what manner. This pattern is one of the most common ways to describe performance and states from HSK 2 onward.

The 得 complement answers "how?" or "to what degree?" It turns a bare statement like 他跑 (he runs) into an evaluation: 他跑得很快 (he runs fast) or 他跑得很慢 (he runs slowly).

得 (de) as a complement marker sits between a verb/adjective and its degree description: 做得好 (done well), 跑得快 (runs fast), 高兴得跳起来 (so happy she jumped up).

的 (de) marks a modifier before a noun: 好的书 (a good book), 我的书 (my book). 地 (de) marks an adverb before a verb: 高兴地说 (say happily), 认真地学习 (study seriously).

A quick rule of thumb: 的 before a noun, 地 before a verb, 得 after a verb or adjective to introduce a description. Test with the sentence 他高兴地跳了起来 (he jumped up happily) vs 他高兴得跳了起来 (he was so happy that he jumped up) — 地 describes the manner, 得 describes the degree causing the result.

Note that 得 also appears as a potential marker (听得懂 = able to understand, see the potential-complements guide). The same character does two jobs: before a result it shows possibility, while before a degree it shows extent. Context decides which.

V + 得 + adjective is the core form: 做得很好 (do it well), 说得流利 (speak fluently), 写得漂亮 (write beautifully), 吃得太多 (eat too much). The adjective can carry its own adverb: 做得非常好, 跑得特别快.

V + 得 + sentence shows a consequence of the degree: 累得说不出话 (so tired one cannot speak), 高兴得跳起来 (so happy one jumps up), 急得哭了起来 (so anxious one started crying), 笑得合不拢嘴 (so amused one cannot close one's mouth).

Adjective + 得 + extent can intensify a quality: 好得很 (very good), 多得很 (a lot), 热得要命 (unbearably hot), 忙得不得了 (extremely busy).

The adverbs 极了, 死了, and 要命 attach directly to an adjective or verb without 得 to mean an extreme degree: 好极了 (excellent), 累极了 (exhausted), 高兴死了 (extremely happy), 热死了 (so hot), 饿得要命 (starving), 忙得要命 (swamped). Note 极了 and 死了 follow the word directly, while 要命 is usually preceded by 得.

When the verb has an object, the verb is often repeated: 他说汉语说得很流利 (he speaks Chinese fluently), 我打篮球打得很好 (I play basketball well). The object can also be moved to the front as the topic: 汉语他说得很流利.

To negate a degree complement, put 不 before the complement, not before the verb: 做得不好 (not done well), 跑得不快 (does not run fast), 说得不流利 (does not speak fluently). Saying 不做得好 is wrong.

The A-not-A question repeats the complement's core: 跑得快不快? (does he run fast?), 做得好不好? (is it done well?), 说得流利不流利? (does she speak fluently?).

With 吗, the whole statement turns into a yes/no question: 他跑得很快吗? (does he run fast?), 她说得很好吗? (does she speak well?).

The question word 怎么样 or 怎么 asks for the manner: 他跑得怎么样? (how does he run?), 你们玩得怎么样? (how did you all have fun?).

These three 得-related patterns look similar but ask different things. A degree complement evaluates how or how much: 做得好 (done well — good quality), 做得很好 (done very well).

A result complement states whether the result happened, with no 得: 做完了 (finished doing), 做好了 (finished/prepared it). It answers "did it finish?"

A potential complement says whether something can be done, using 得 or 不 between verb and result: 做得完 (able to finish), 做不完 (unable to finish), 听得懂 (able to understand).

Compare the trio: 做得好 (degree: done well) vs 做得完 (potential: can finish) vs 做好了 (result: finished). The same surface words 做得好 in isolation can lean degree, but context and any degree adverb (很, 特别, 非常) make it clearly degree: 做得很好 can only mean "done very well", never "can do well".

Do not confuse 得, 的, and 地. Use 得 after the verb/adjective to introduce the degree (做得好), 的 before a noun (好的书), and 地 before a verb (高兴地说).

Do not write 做得不好 as 不做得好. Negation goes on the complement, not on the verb.

Do not treat a degree complement like a plain adjectival predicate. 他跑很快 is incomplete without 得 — the correct form is 他跑得很快. The 得 is required to attach the evaluation.

Watch the placement of 极了 and 死了. They attach directly to the adjective or verb (好极了, 累死了) and do not take 得; 要命 normally takes 得 (饿得要命, 忙得要命).

When the verb has an object, repeat the verb or front the object. 他说汉语说得很流利 or 汉语他说得很流利, not 他说得很流利汉语.