Chinese Result Complements — 完, 到, 好, 懂, 见, 住, 会, 开

A result complement (结果补语) is a word placed after a verb to tell you the outcome of the action. In 做完 (zuò wán, finish doing), the verb 做 (zuò, do) is followed by 完 (wán, finish), so the whole word means "finish doing".

Result complements answer the question "what result does the action produce?" 看完 (kàn wán) — finish reading or watching, 听懂 (tīng dǒng) — understand what you hear, 找到 (zhǎo dào) — find. They are one of the most productive patterns in spoken Chinese.

Because the complement carries the result, the verb alone is not enough: 看 (kàn, look) does not tell you whether you finished or understood. Adding 完, 到, 懂, or 见 changes the meaning completely.

完 (wán) means "finish" and marks that an action is completed. 做完 (zuò wán) — finish doing, 吃完 (chī wán) — finish eating, 写完 (xiě wán) — finish writing, 看完 (kàn wán) — finish reading or watching.

Use it in daily sentences: 我吃完饭了 (wǒ chī wán fàn le) — I finished eating. 作业做完了吗 (zuò yè zuò wán le ma) — have you finished your homework? 我还没看完 (wǒ hái méi kàn wán) — I have not finished watching yet.

完 is very common in everyday speech and pairs with almost any action verb. 用完 (yòng wán) — use up, 卖完 (mài wán) — sell out: 票卖完了 (piào mài wán le) — the tickets are sold out.

到 (dào) means "reach" or "arrive at" and as a result complement marks a successful outcome: 找到 (zhǎo dào) — find, 买到 (mǎi dào) — manage to buy, 看到 (kàn dào) — see or catch sight of, 听到 (tīng dào) — hear.

It often expresses that an effort succeeded: 我找到了 (wǒ zhǎo dào le) — I found it. 买到票了吗 (mǎi dào piào le ma) — did you manage to get a ticket? 听到消息了吗 (tīng dào xiāo xi le ma) — have you heard the news?

Contrast 看到 and 看见: both mean "see", but 到 focuses on the result of looking while 见 focuses on perceiving. 看到了 means you succeeded in seeing it; 看见 means it entered your sight.

好 (hǎo) as a result complement means "complete and ready for use". 做好 (zuò hǎo) — get it done properly, 准备好 (zhǔn bèi hǎo) — be prepared, 写好 (xiě hǎo) — finish writing it neatly, 安排好 (ān pái hǎo) — arrange it.

好 emphasizes that the result is satisfactory or usable: 饭做好了 (fàn zuò hǎo le) — the meal is ready. 我准备好了 (wǒ zhǔn bèi hǎo le) — I am ready. 你坐好了 (nǐ zuò hǎo le) — sit up properly.

Compare 做完 and 做好: 做完 means you reached the end of the task, while 做好 means you did it well and it is ready. 作业做完了 (finished) vs 作业做好了 (finished and done properly).

懂 (dǒng) means "understand" and follows verbs of perception: 听懂 (tīng dǒng) — understand by listening, 看懂 (kàn dǒng) — understand by reading or watching. 我听不懂 (wǒ tīng bù dǒng) — I cannot understand. 你看懂了吗 (nǐ kàn dǒng le ma) — did you understand?

见 (jiàn) marks perceiving through the senses: 看见 (kàn jiàn) — see, 听见 (tīng jiàn) — hear. 我看见了 (wǒ kàn jiàn le) — I saw it. 听见了吗 (tīng jiàn le ma) — did you hear that?

住 (zhù) means "hold or fix in place": 记住 (jì zhù) — remember, 拿住 (ná zhù) — hold firmly, 站住 (zhàn zhù) — stop or stand still. 记住了吗 (jì zhù le ma) — did you remember it? 拿住，别掉了 (ná zhù, bié diào le) — hold it, do not drop it.

会 (huì) after a verb means "learn how to": 学会 (xué huì) — learn how to do. 我学会了 (wǒ xué huì le) — I have learned it. 学会开车 (xué huì kāi chē) — learn how to drive.

开 (kāi) as a result complement means "open", "apart", or "away": 打开 (dǎ kāi) — open, 走开 (zǒu kāi) — go away, 分开 (fēn kāi) — separate, 拉开 (lā kāi) — pull open.

Use it in daily situations: 请打开门 (qǐng dǎ kāi mén) — please open the door. 走开 (zǒu kāi) — go away. 把窗帘拉开 (bǎ chuāng lián lā kāi) — pull the curtains open.

开 emphasizes separation or movement away from a starting point. 分开 (fēn kāi) means to split two things apart, and 打开 (dǎ kāi) is the standard word for "open" an app, door, or book.

To negate a result complement, put 没 (méi) before the verb and drop the final 了: 没做完 (méi zuò wán) — did not finish, 没找到 (méi zhǎo dào) — did not find, 没听懂 (méi tīng dǒng) — did not understand.

The pattern is 没 + 动词 + 补语: 我还没写完 (wǒ hái méi xiě wán) — I have not finished writing yet. 没买到票 (méi mǎi dào piào) — did not manage to buy a ticket. 没看清楚 (méi kàn qīng chu) — did not see clearly.

For "cannot" (inability), use the potential form with 不 between the verb and complement: 听不懂 (tīng bù dǒng) — cannot understand, 找不到 (zhǎo bù dào) — cannot find, 记不住 (jì bù zhù) — cannot remember. This is different from 没, which states that an action did not happen.

Result complements pair naturally with the 把 (bǎ) sentence, which puts the object before the verb to emphasize handling it: 把门关上 (bǎ mén guān shàng) — close the door, 把作业做完 (bǎ zuò yè zuò wán) — finish the homework, 把饭吃完 (bǎ fàn chī wán) — finish eating the meal.

The pattern is 把 + 对象 + 动词 + 补语: 把房间打扫干净 (bǎ fáng jiān dǎ sǎo gān jìng) — clean the room thoroughly. 把衣服洗干净 (bǎ yī fu xǐ gān jìng) — wash the clothes clean. 把钱准备好 (bǎ qián zhǔn bèi hǎo) — get the money ready.

The 把 pattern is natural when an action changes the state of an object and produces a result. 把窗户打开 (bǎ chuāng hu dǎ kāi) — open the window, 把手机放好 (bǎ shǒu jī fàng hǎo) — put the phone away properly.

Compound directional complements combine a direction word with 来 (lái, toward the speaker) or 去 (qù, away from the speaker). 起来 (qǐ lái) — up, 出来 (chū lái) — out toward the speaker, 上去 (shàng qù) — up away, 下来 (xià lái) — down toward the speaker.

They extend beyond physical movement to abstract meanings. 想起来 (xiǎng qǐ lái) — remember, 看出来 (kàn chū lái) — make out or recognize, 记下来 (jì xià lái) — write it down, 做出来 (zuò chū lái) — produce or work it out.

Common daily uses: 我想起来了 (wǒ xiǎng qǐ lái le) — I remember now. 我看不出来 (wǒ kàn bù chū lái) — I cannot tell. 把地址记下来 (bǎ dì zhǐ jì xià lái) — write down the address. 他说不出来 (tā shuō bù chū lái) — he cannot say it out loud.

These complements also mark the start of a state: 天气热起来了 (tiān qì rè qǐ lái le) — the weather is getting hot. 大家笑起来 (dà jiā xiào qǐ lái) — everyone started laughing.