得 is a word you』ll come across quite early on in your Chinese learning journey. This seemingly simple character often confuses learners due to the fact that it can be a structural particle*, a verb, an adverb, or used to form new words with other characters.
It might sound complicated, but once you get the hang of it, it』ll get a whole lot easier. In this article, one of our teachers explains this tricky character and how to correctly use/identify it.
*A structural particle is a function word that indicates the structural relationship between two elements in a sentence.
Let’s take a look at some examples of 得 being used:
(1) 做得很好。(zuò de hěn hǎo)
(2) 得慢慢做。(děi màn man zuò)
(3) 值得去做。(zhí dé qù zuò)
(4) 這本書比那本書好得多。(zhè běn shū bǐ nà běn shū hǎo de duō)
(5) 好吃得不得了。(hǎo chī de bù dé liǎo)
Each of the above 6 「得」 has different functions or meanings, and their tones also change according to these. While they look exactly the same, their positions in each sentence should eventually give away which purpose they serve. Let's break them down.
1. 得：dé
In modern Chinese, 得 maintains its original meaning: to gain. It’s often combined with other characters to form new words. Here are some common words made up with 得.
得到
dé dào
to gain
值得
zhí dé
worth
不得了
bù dé liǎo
terribly；extremely
怪不得
guài bù dé
no wonder
2. 得：děi: have to
In this form, it works as a verb, meaning 「to have to」. It’s used immediately before another verb to signify a need to do something. For example: 得 děi+V
現在我得去上課了。
xiàn zài wǒ děi qù shàng kè le.
I have to go to class now.
你得回家。
nǐ děi huí jiā.
You have to go home.
3. 得：de complement "de"
Referred to as 「complement de」, this is the trickiest usage, because there’s no obvious equivalent in English. It’s often – though not exclusively – used in the following ways:
V + 得 de + C
Adj + 得 de + C
*The C means Complements. A complement is a word or phrase following a verb or an adjective that provides additional meaning to the verb or adjective phrase.
Let’s take 「run fast」 as an example:
English: run fast
跑 快
Chinese: 跑 得 快。
In this phrase , 跑 is the verb, 快 is the complement 「C」. 「 跑得快」，is simply how you say 「run fast」 in Chinese; you cannot say this correctly without using 得.
(1) V + 得 de + C
In order to describe the state/result/possibility/direction of an action, we could use a complement after the verb, then put a 得 (de) in between. For example:
To indicate the state:
來得早
lái de zǎo
to come early
To indicate the possibility:
你看得清楚嗎？
nǐ kàn de qīng chǔ ma
Can you see it clearly?
to indicate the direction
他自己走得下去。
tā zì jǐ zǒu de xià qù
He can walk down by himself.
(2) Adj + 得 de + C
With the complement, you can also describe the degree/result of an adjective. Complements are not the same as objects, and can be as short as one character, or as long as a sentence.
我累+得+不想說話。
wǒ lèi de bù xiǎng shuō huà
I am so tired that I don’t want to talk.
她忙得忘了給女兒買生日禮物。
tā máng de wàng le gěi nǚ』ér mǎi shēng rì lǐ wù
She is so busy that she forgot to buy a birthday gift for her daughter.
4. Expressing 「much more」 in comparisons
When we compare things in Chinese, we use a simple structure:
A 比 B + adj.
(A is more …than B.)
If we want to add emphasis to the adjective and show that A is much more ___ than B, we can use the suffix 得多 de duō right after the adjective it complements.
A 比 B + adj. + 得多 de duō (much more)
他+比+他的弟弟+高+得多。
tā bǐ tā de dì di gāo de duō
He is much taller than his younger brother.
今天比昨天熱得多。
jīn tiān bǐ zuó tiān rè de duō
Today is much hotter than yesterday.
Now let’s go back to see the 6 sentences introduced at the beginning.
Can you understand them now?
(1) 做得很好。(zuò de hěn hǎo)
(2) 得慢慢做。(děi màn man zuò)
(3) 值得去做。(zhí dé qù zuò)
(4) 這本書比那本書好得多。(zhè běn shū bǐ nà běn shū hǎo de duō)
(5) 好吃得不得了。(hǎo chī de bù dé liǎo)
Answers:
(1) 做得很好。V+de+C
(2) 得慢慢做。děi+V
(3) 值得去做。zhí dé
(4) 這本書比那本書好得多。much more
(5) 好吃 得 不得了。adj+de+C; bù dé liǎo
(1) to do it well;
(2) to have to do it slowly;
(3) worth doing;
(4) this book is much better than that book;
(5) extremely delicious.
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