的, 地 and 得: three ways to write de

One sound, three characters

You know 的 (de) from 的: my, your, the teacher's: 我的书, 很大的房子. Chinese has two more characters that, in this use, sound exactly the same, a light de with the neutral tone: 地 and 得. When you speak there is nothing to choose. When you write, you pick the character by its job.

The same characters have other readings with other meanings: 地 is dì in 地方 (dìfang, place) and 地图 (dìtú, map); 得 is dé in 得到 (dédào, to get). As grammar words, all three are a light de.

的: a description, then a noun

的 joins a description or an owner to a noun, which comes after it. Even a description with a verb in it (wearing red) takes 的, because a noun follows.

• 我喜欢安静的地方。(Wǒ xǐhuan ānjìng de dìfang.)I like quiet places.
• 穿红衣服的人是我姐姐。(Chuān hóng yīfu de rén shì wǒ jiějie.)The person wearing red is my older sister.

地: a description, then a verb

地 turns a describing word into how the action is done, like English -ly (slowly, happily). The pattern is description + 地 + verb.

• 孩子们高兴地唱歌。(Háizimen gāoxìng de chàng gē.)The children are singing happily.
• 她很快地吃完了早饭。(Tā hěn kuài de chīwán le zǎofàn.)She quickly finished her breakfast.

地 goes after two-syllable describing words (认真, 高兴), doubled ones (慢慢, see Doubling words: 看看, 试一试, 高高兴兴) and phrases with 很 (很快). With many two-syllable words it can be left out in speech: 认真学习 is fine too. A bare one-syllable adjective goes straight onto the verb with no 地: 快走 (kuài zǒu, walk faster), 多吃 (duō chī, eat more).

得: a verb, then how well

得 comes after the verb, and the description after it says how well, how much, or what the result was. This is the pattern of 得: how well, how fast.

• 他汉字写得很漂亮。(Tā Hànzì xiě de hěn piàoliang.)He writes characters beautifully.
• 我今天起得太晚了。(Wǒ jīntiān qǐ de tài wǎn le.)I got up too late today.

How to choose

Look at the words around de:

1. A noun comes after it → 的.
2. A verb comes after it → 地.
3. A verb comes just before it, and a description after → 得.

• 她是一个认真的学生。(Tā shì yí gè rènzhēn de xuésheng.)She's a conscientious student.
• 她认真地听老师说话。(Tā rènzhēn de tīng lǎoshī shuōhuà.)She listens carefully to the teacher.
• 她学得很认真。(Tā xué de hěn rènzhēn.)She studies conscientiously.

The 地 sentence describes the action as it happens; the 得 sentence comments on it, like a verdict on how she studies.

In casual online writing, Chinese speakers often write 的 for all three. In careful writing and in exams, keep them apart.

Common mistakes

• 他跑的很快。 → 他跑得很快。After a verb, the de that leads to "how well" is 得. (You will see 的 here in casual posts; careful writing counts it as wrong.)
• 漂亮地衣服 → 漂亮的衣服. A noun follows, so 的.
• 他认真得听。 → 他认真地听。A verb follows, so 地.
• 快地走 → 快走 or 很快地走. A bare one-syllable adjective doesn't take 地.
• 她说汉语得很好。 → 她说汉语说得很好。得 must follow the verb directly, so with an object the verb is repeated (得: how well, how fast).