Verb + 得 + Adverb/Adjective
Reach for Verb + 得 + Adverb/Adjective when you want to say how well, how fast, how badly, or in what manner an action is done. English packs that into one adverb ('he runs quickly'); Chinese splits it: the verb does the action, then 得 hands the floor to an adjective phrase that grades it. It's how you talk about quality of performance — at sports, at cooking, at speaking a language.
Structure
[VERB] 得 [ADJ PHRASE]
[VERB] de [ADJ PHRASE]
How to Think About It
Think of 得 as a slot for a review score. The verb names what was done, 得 opens the gradebook, and the adjective fills in how it went. That's why the adjective almost always needs an intensifier like 很 — 跑得快 sounds incomplete; 跑得很快 feels grammatically settled. The adjective is describing the verb's performance, not the subject's general traits.
Examples
他跑得很快。
Tā pǎo de hěn kuài.
He runs very fast.
你说得太对了。
Nǐ shuō de tài duì le.
What you said is exactly right.
她中文说得很流利。
Tā Zhōngwén shuō de hěn liúlì.
She speaks Chinese very fluently.
Common Mistake
Learners attach the object to the wrong side, putting it after 得. The object goes before the verb (often by repeating the verb): 他说中文说得很好, not 他说得中文很好.
他说得中文很好。
他说中文说得很好。
Don't Confuse With
Adj + 地 + Verb
地 attaches an adverb in front of the verb to describe the manner before the action: 慢慢地走 = walk slowly. 得 grades the verb after the action. Different particles, opposite slots.
Verb + 得 + Result
Same 得 introduces a result clause instead of a quality: 累得睡着了 = 'so tired (that) I fell asleep.' Context tells you whether the phrase after 得 is grading or showing consequence.
Verb + 的 + Noun
Different particle — 的 turns the verb into a modifier for a noun (买的东西 = the thing I bought). Don't confuse the three -de characters.
Practice
Fill in the blank: 他写汉字写___很漂亮。
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得
Fill in the blank: 我今天睡得很___。 (well)
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好
Arrange: 得 / 很 / 跳舞 / 她 / 好
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她跳舞跳得很好。
Translate to Chinese: My older brother cooks very well.
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我哥哥做菜做得很好。
Describe something you or a friend does well or badly using Verb + 得 + Adj.
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我朋友打篮球打得不太好，但是踢足球踢得非常棒。
Hear It in Real Episodes
This pattern appears in 1 Fluentide episode:
Related Grammar Patterns
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Hear Verb + 得 + Adverb/Adjective in real Chinese, not in a textbook.
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