(dé) - complement marker (result/degree) in Mandarin
déTraditional: 得
Translation
complement marker (result/degree)
Word origin
得 originally depicted a hand 又 grasping a cowrie shell 贝 (money) on a road 彳, meaning 'to obtain, to get'. As a particle 'de' it marks the complement of result or degree after a verb.
- Origin
- ideograph
- Root
- 彳 (step) + 贝 (cowrie/money) + 寸/又 (hand)
Stroke order
得
Examples
。
He runs very fast.
。
You did very well.
。
She does not speak clearly.
。
She sings really beautifully.
Appears in 11 words
Multi-character compounds in the corpus that contain 得.
Used in
Grammar articles
(11)Mandarin Advanced Grammar (C1-C2 / HSK 6+): Chengyu, Classical Remnants, and Register
Mandarin Complements: 得 for Manner, Directional Endings, and How to Attach a Result to a Verb
Mandarin Verb Conjugation: Why It Doesn't Exist and What Replaces It
Asking How + Adjective in Mandarin with 多: 多高, 多远, 多长, 多大
Figurative Directional Complements in Mandarin: 起来, 下去 and 出来 Beyond Up, Down and Out
Mandarin Intermediate Grammar (B1-B2 / HSK 4-5): Complements, Conjunctions and the Full 了 System
Mandarin Modal Verbs: 会, 想, 要, 应该, 可以, 能 and the Future-Intent Words 打算, 准备
Mandarin Potential Complements: Can You Reach the Result? (吃得完, 听不懂, 买不起)
Mandarin Resultative Complements: Fusing a Result onto the Verb (看见, 吃完, 找到)
The Three de in Mandarin: 的, 得, and 地 and How to Tell Them Apart
Topic-Comment Structure in Mandarin: Fronting 这本书我看过 and Why Word Order Bends
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