Chinese complements: saying how well and with what result

听不懂 — can't understand (by listening)HSK 1

How do you say "I don't understand" in Chinese?

听不懂 literally means "listen-not-understand": you hear the words but the meaning doesn't get through. 懂 means "to understand."

我听不懂。 — I don't understand (what I'm hearing).

Seen in 我听不懂请说慢一点

V + 得 + adjective — degree complementHSK 2

得 links a verb to a description of how it's done or its degree: 住得很远 = 'lives far away.'

我的同事住得很远。— My coworker lives far away.

Seen in 离家很近去机场新年快乐早上跑步 +5

V + 完（to finish doing something）HSK 2

完 right after a verb shows that action is complete.

说完，我睡了一会儿。— After I finished talking, I slept for a while.

Seen in 我累了点菜准备考试服务员，买单 +1

adjective + 得 + complementHSK 4

得 after an adjective introduces a complement describing the degree, often with a vivid comparison, as in 热闹得像过节一样 or 白得发亮.

到处是灯光和音乐，热闹得像过节一样。 — Lights and music everywhere, as lively as a festival.

Seen in 迷人的丽江二维码生活

V + 得 + 补语(程度)HSK 4

得 introduces a complement describing the degree or result of an action or state: 我紧张得手都在抖 / 我的心跳得特别快。

他跑得很快。— He runs very fast.

Seen in 学车记大城市病

How to use this page

These 5 patterns all do the same job in Chinese, so they are worth seeing side by side — the differences between them are easier to feel when they are next to each other than when they are spread across six HSK levels. They range from HSK 1–4.

Grammar sticks through reading, not through lists. Each entry links to the reading it was taken from. Skim the page, then go read one of them and come back when a sentence stops making sense.

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