得: how well, how fast
他说得很好, 你跑得太快了, 他说中文说得很好: describing how someone does something.
Part of the free A2 Chinese course (about HSK 3). Examples are in Simplified characters with pinyin; press the speaker to hear one with your device's Chinese voice.
Saying how well someone does something
English adds a word after the verb: He speaks well. You run too fast. Chinese puts 得 (de, neutral tone) after the verb, and then the description:
| Subject | Verb | 得 | How | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 他 (tā) | 说 (shuō) | 得 (de) | 很好 (hěn hǎo) | He speaks very well. |
| 你 (nǐ) | 跑 (pǎo) | 得 (de) | 太快了 (tài kuài le) | You run too fast. |
| 他 (tā) | 起 (qǐ) | 得 (de) | 很早 (hěn zǎo) | He gets up early. |
The part after 得 works like an adjective sentence (Adjectives: 很 + adjective, no 是): 很好, 非常快, 太慢了, 不好.
- 他说得很好。(Tā shuō de hěn hǎo.)He speaks very well.
- 你跑得太快了！(Nǐ pǎo de tài kuài le!)You run too fast!
- 他每天起得很早。(Tā měi tiān qǐ de hěn zǎo.)He gets up early every day.
Not: 不 after 得
The negative goes on the description, after 得:
- 我昨天睡得不好。(Wǒ zuótiān shuì de bù hǎo.)I didn't sleep well last night.
Questions
- 你考得怎么样？(Nǐ kǎo de zěnmeyàng?)How did your exam go?
You can also ask with 吗: 他唱得好吗？ = Does he sing well?
With an object: say the verb twice
得 must come straight after the verb. So when there's an object, Chinese says the verb, then the object, then the verb again with 得:
| Verb + object | Verb again + 得 | How |
|---|---|---|
| 说中文 (shuō Zhōngwén) | 说得 (shuō de) | 很好 (hěn hǎo) |
| 唱歌 (chàng gē) | 唱得 (chàng de) | 非常好听 (fēicháng hǎotīng) |
- 她唱歌唱得非常好听。(Tā chàng gē chàng de fēicháng hǎotīng.)She sings beautifully.
Or drop the first verb and put the object first: 他中文说得很好.
- 你汉字写得真漂亮！(Nǐ Hànzì xiě de zhēn piàoliang!)Your characters are really beautiful!
- 我哥哥菜做得很好。(Wǒ gēge cài zuò de hěn hǎo.)My brother is a good cook.
得, 的 and 地 are all said "de". 得 comes after a verb to say how it's done: see 的, 地 and 得: three ways to write de. You can also compare with it: 他跑得比我快 = he runs faster than me (比: bigger, smaller, the same).
Common mistakes
他说中文得很好。→ 他说中文说得很好 (or 他中文说得很好)。得 must follow the verb, not the object.他说得中文很好。→ 他中文说得很好。The object can't go after 得.我不唱得好。→ 我唱得不好。不 goes after 得.他跑得快很。→ 他跑得很快。很 goes before the adjective, as usual.他跑的很快。→ 他跑得很快。After a verb, the "de" is written 得.
Practice
- 她跑_____很快。(Tā pǎo ___ hěn kuài.)Options: 得 (de) · 的 (de) · 了 (le)
Show the answer
得 (de) — Verb + 得 + how.
- Which sentence means 'He speaks Chinese very well'?Options: 他说中文说得很好。(Tā shuō Zhōngwén shuō de hěn hǎo.) · 他说中文得很好。(Tā shuō Zhōngwén de hěn hǎo.) · 他说得中文很好。(Tā shuō de Zhōngwén hěn hǎo.)
Show the answer
他说中文说得很好。(Tā shuō Zhōngwén shuō de hěn hǎo.) — With an object, repeat the verb before 得.
- Rewrite in the negative: 他游得很快。(Tā yóu de hěn kuài.)
Show the answer
他游得不快 — 不 goes after 得.
- 你们玩儿_____开心吗？(Nǐmen wánr ___ kāixīn ma?)Options: 得 (de) · 地 (de) · 了 (le)
Show the answer
得 (de) — How the playing went: 玩儿得开心.