Grammar Topic

Complements in Chinese Grammar

Learn how Chinese verbs show an action's result, direction, degree, or possibility. Choose the meaning you need, then open the matching pattern.

Choose the structure by meaning

Complements answer a question after the verb. Start from the meaning you need, then open the matching pattern.

I finished or completed the action

我吃完了。

Wǒ chī wán le.

I finished eating.

Verb + 完

[VERB] wán

我吃完了。

Wǒ chī wán le.

I finished eating.

I saw, heard, understood, found, or reached the result

我听懂了。

Wǒ tīng dǒng le.

I understood what I heard.

Verb + 得 + Complement

[VERB] de [COMPLEMENT]

我听懂了。

Wǒ tīng dǒng le.

I understood what I heard.

The action moves toward, away, in, out, up, or down

他跑进来了。

Tā pǎo jìn lái le.

He ran in toward us.

Verb + 来/去/出/进

[VERB] lái / qù / chū / jìn

他跑进来了。

Tā pǎo jìn lái le.

He ran in toward us.

I want to describe how well or intensely the action happened

她说得很清楚。

Tā shuō de hěn qīngchu.

She speaks very clearly.

Verb + 得 + Adjective

[VERB] de [ADJ]

她说得很清楚。

Tā shuō de hěn qīngchu.

She speaks very clearly.

The action cannot succeed because the situation blocks it

我听不懂。

Wǒ tīng bù dǒng.

I cannot understand what I hear.

Verb + 不 + Complement

[VERB] bu [COMPLEMENT]

我听不懂。

Wǒ tīng bù dǒng.

I cannot understand what I hear.

Common mix-ups

了 vs 完

le vs wán

了 marks completion or change. 完 says the action ran all the way to its natural end.

吃了 = ate; 吃完了 = finished eating.

chī le; chī wán le

不 + verb vs Verb + 不 + complement

bù + verb vs verb + bù + complement

不 + verb is refusal, habit, or simple negation. Verb + 不 + complement means the result is not possible.

不看 = do not look; 看不懂 = looked or read but cannot understand.

bù kàn; kàn bù dǒng

得 for degree vs 得 for potential

de for degree vs de for potential

After a completed verb, 得 rates the action. Between the verb and result, 得 says the result can happen.

说得快 = speaks fast; 听得懂 = can understand by listening.

shuō de kuài; tīng de dǒng

Looking for a specific complement?

Open the complete reference when you need a particular structure. It is grouped by purpose instead of frequency.

Browse all complement patterns (17)

Result complements

5 patterns

把 + Object + Verb + Result ComplementbǎHSK 2

Use this 把 pattern when the verb produces a clear result in the object: finish it, break it, clean it, open it, or otherwise change its state.HSK 2

Verb + 完[VERB] wánHSK 1

Stick 完 after a verb to say the action got all the way to its end — 吃完 (finish eating), 看完 (finish watching), 写完 (finish writing).HSK 1

Subject + 动词 + 结果补语[SUBJECT] [VERB] le / dào [OBJECT]HSK 1

Reach for Verb + 了 or Verb + 到 when you want to say not just that an action happened but that it landed — completed, reached, succeeded.HSK 1

Verb + 完 / 到[VERB] + wán / [VERB] + dàoHSK 2

Use these when you need to say HOW an action ended — not just that it happened.HSK 2

Verb + 完 + 了以后[VERB] wán le yǐhòuHSK 3-4

Reach for this when you want to say 'after finishing [verb]' — emphasizing that the first action is fully wrapped up before the next one starts.HSK 3-4

Direction complements

6 patterns

把 + Object + Verb + Direction ComplementbǎHSK 2

Use this specialist 把 pattern when an object moves in a direction relative to the speaker or another reference point.HSK 2

Verb + 起来[VERB] qǐláiHSK 2

Reach for Verb + 起来 in three closely-linked situations: an action moving upward (站起来 stand up, 拿起来 pick up), an action springing into existence (笑起来 burst out laughing, 哭起来 break into tears), or a sensory impression you're forming on the spot (看起来 looks like, 听起来 sounds like, 吃起来 tastes like).HSK 2

Verb + 出来[VERB] chūláiHSK 2

Reach for Verb + 出来 when an action causes something to emerge, become visible, or be figured out.HSK 2

Verb + 来 / 走[VERB] + lái / [VERB] + zǒuHSK 2

Use these to add direction to an action.HSK 2

Verb + 来 + Verb + 去[verb] lái [verb] qùHSK 2

Reach for this when you want to describe a back-and-forth action with no clear destination — pacing, thinking it over, running around, flipping pages, tossing a thought around.HSK 2

Verb + 来/去/出/进[VERB] lái / qù / chū / jìnHSK 1

Stick a direction word right after a verb to say where the action is heading.HSK 1

Degree complements

2 patterns

Verb + 得 + Adjective[VERB] de [ADJ]HSK 1

Reach for this when you want to describe HOW someone does an action — 'verb + (how well/poorly/fast/slowly).' 他跑得很快.HSK 1

Verb + 得 + Complement[VERB] de [COMPLEMENT]HSK 1

Use Verb + 得 + complement to describe an action by saying how well, how much, or in what state it was performed.HSK 1

Potential complements

4 patterns

Verb + 不 + Complement[VERB] bu [COMPLEMENT]HSK 2

Use this when you want to say someone is unable to complete an action — not because they won't, but because the conditions don't allow it.HSK 2

Verb + 不 + Verb... bu ...HSK 1

Reach for this when you want to say 'can't' in a way that's about physical or situational possibility, not permission.HSK 1

Verb + 不 + 完[VERB] bù wánHSK 2

Reach for this when there's too much of something to finish — too much food to eat, too many books to read, too much work to do.HSK 2

Verb + 不出 + Result[VERB] bùchū [RESULT]HSK 2

Reach for this when you tried to do something with your senses or your brain, and the answer just won't come.HSK 2