The three de: 的, 得 and 地
Three different words, one identical sound. What decides is the neighbours: 的 before a noun, 得 after a verb, 地 before a verb.
Structure
定语 + 的 + 名词 ｜ 动词／形容词 + 得 + 程度补语 ｜ 状语 + 地 + 动词
Explanation
Chinese words in this text can be activated to show a dictionary gloss.
, and are three separate words that happen to sound identical — all of them an unstressed de. Nothing in the sound will help you; what decides is the words standing on either side.
builds noun phrases. Everything in front of describes the noun that comes after it: “my book”, “red clothes”, “the phone (I) bought yesterday”, “the person wearing red”. Test: if a noun follows, write .
links a verb (or an adjective) to a comment on how it goes — how well, how fast, how much: “He runs fast”, “You speak well”, “I’m so tired today I don’t want to move”. Test: if what follows judges the action, write . Two details come with it. The comment normally keeps its , exactly like an ordinary adjective sentence — on its own sounds like half a comparison. And the negative attaches to the comment, not to the verb: , never .
turns a description into an adverb, and it always stands before the verb: “speak slowly”, “sing happily”, “read carefully”. Test: if a verb follows, write .
The whole system in one line: before a noun, after a verb, before a verb.
One extra trap. When the verb has an object, cannot reach past it. Either repeat the verb — — or move the object in front — . is impossible.
In casual typing many native speakers use for all three. Textbooks, exams and edited writing keep them apart, so it is worth learning the distinction properly from the start.
Correct
Say each one out loud before moving on. The audio is a reference pronunciation, not a model to imitate exactly — match the tone contour, not the voice.
那个穿红衣服的人是我姐姐。那個穿紅衣服的人是我姐姐。
Nàge (fourth tone, falling) chuān (first tone, high and level) hóng (second tone, rising) yīfu (first tone, high and level) de (neutral tone) rén (second tone, rising) shì (fourth tone, falling) wǒ (third tone, dipping) jiějie. (third tone, dipping)···
The person in the red clothes is my older sister.
他汉语说得很好。他漢語說得很好。
Tā (first tone, high and level) Hànyǔ (fourth tone, falling) shuō (first tone, high and level) de (neutral tone) hěn (third tone, dipping) hǎo. (third tone, dipping)···
He speaks Chinese very well.
老师慢慢地说，我们都听懂了。老師慢慢地說，我們都聽懂了。
Lǎoshī (third tone, dipping) mànmàn (fourth tone, falling) de (neutral tone) shuō, (first tone, high and level) wǒmen (third tone, dipping) dōu (first tone, high and level) tīngdǒng (first tone, high and level) le. (neutral tone)···
The teacher spoke slowly, and we all understood.
Incorrect — Common mistakes
These sentences are wrong. They are printed here on purpose, each one paired with the repair and the reason, because the error you can recognise is the error you stop making.
Not quite
Incorrect sentence: 他跑的很快。
Correct
Correct sentence: 他跑得很快。
Why: 很快 comments on how he runs, so the link is 得. 的 would require a noun after it — 跑的人 “the person who runs” is a different sentence.
Not quite
Incorrect sentence: 孩子们高兴的唱歌。
Correct
Correct sentence: 孩子们高兴地唱歌。
Why: 唱歌 is a verb, and 高兴 describes how the singing is done, so the adverb marker 地 is needed.
Not quite
Incorrect sentence: 他说得汉语很好。
Correct
Correct sentence: 他汉语说得很好。
Why: 得 attaches to the verb and cannot reach over an object. Either move the object forward (他汉语说得很好) or repeat the verb (他说汉语说得很好).
Compared with
Most errors with this pattern are not errors about this pattern — they are a neighbouring pattern arriving at the wrong moment. Read these side by side.
很快 can be a whole predicate or a 得-complement, and telling those two apart is the quickest way to stop confusing 的 with 得. 他很快 describes the person as a quality: “he’s quick”. 他跑得很快 describes the running: “he runs fast”. As soon as a verb is present and you want to say how it went, the link is 得, and the comment keeps the 很 exactly as in an ordinary adjective sentence: 跑得很快, 写得很好, 来得很早. If there is no verb to comment on, you are back in the plain 很 pattern and no 得 is possible.
Adjectival predicates with 很 →Mini quiz
Question 1 / 3Total score: 0
Choose the correct particle.
他汉语说 ___ 很好。