Structure: Adjective / Psychological Verb + 得得 de + 不得了不得了 bùdéliǎo. It’s the most commonly used of this family of “extremely” expressions.
1 Adj / Psych. Verb + 得得 de + 不得了不得了 bùdéliǎo
Literally “cannot be gotten hold of” — a feeling or state so strong it’s overflowing. It can go positive (thrilled, gorgeous) or negative (anxious, furious), and unlike 死了死了 sǐle, it always needs 得得 de in front.
爸爸答應去公園，兒子開心得不得了爸爸答应去公园，儿子开心得不得了
Dad agreed to go to the park, and the son is over the moon.
這位演員帥得不得了这位演员帅得不得了
This actor is unbelievably handsome!
他愛那女孩愛得不得了他爱那女孩儿爱得不得了
He’s madly, hopelessly in love with that girl.
A Rarer Cousin: 得得 de + 慌慌 huāng
You may occasionally run into 得慌得慌 de huāng, which works the same way but sounds a bit more colloquial and is mostly limited to describing physical discomfort — 累累 lèi + 得得 de + 慌慌 huāng (“exhausted”), 悶闷 mèn + 得得 de + 慌慌 huāng (“stuffy/bored”). It’s far less common than 不得了不得了 bùdéliǎo, so recognizing it is enough:
我只是累得慌，休息一下就好了我只是累得慌，休息一下就好了
I’m just worn out, I’ll be fine after a rest.
2 The Degree Ladder So Far
Three articles in, here’s how the intensifiers stack up in strength and formality.
| Word | Level | Notes |
|---|
| 得很得很 dehěn | HSK 3 | A plain, everyday “very” — the mildest of the set. |
| 極了极了 jíle | HSK 3 | “Extremely” — no 得得 needed, works for adjectives and some verbs. |
| 壞了坏了 huàile | HSK 3 | “To bits” — mostly emotion verbs, positive or negative. |
| 死了死了 sǐle | HSK 4 | “To death” — loud, casual, no 得得 needed. |
| 得得 de + 厲害厉害 lìhài | HSK 4 | “Badly, severely” — leans negative, a bit more serious. |
| 得得 de + 不得了不得了 bùdéliǎo | HSK 5 | “Unbearably” — the strongest and most versatile of the family. |
| 透了透了 tòule | HSK 6 | “Through and through” — nearly always negative, the most literary of the set. |
Coming up in Degree Complement 4 (HSK 6):
透了透了 tòule, plus a few even more colloquial ways to say “extremely.”
3 Practice
Translate each sentence into Chinese, then tap the card to check your answer.
01Hearing she got the job, she was overjoyed.
聽到自己錄取了，她興奮得不得了听到自己录取了，她兴奋得不得了
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02The traffic today is unbelievably bad.
今天路上塞得不得了今天路上塞得不得了
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03She was furious when she found out he’d lied.
發現他說謊後，她生氣得不得了发现他说谎后，她生气得不得了
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04This restaurant’s business is unbelievably good.
這家餐廳生意好得不得了这家餐厅生意好得不得了
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05He’s absolutely obsessed with that video game.
他迷那個電玩迷得不得了他迷那个电玩迷得不得了
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06Before the interview, I was incredibly nervous.
面試前，我緊張得不得了面试前，我紧张得不得了
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07That view from the mountain was unbelievably beautiful.
山上的風景美得不得了山上的风景美得不得了
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08He was worried sick when his daughter didn’t come home.
女兒沒回家，他擔心得不得了女儿没回家，他担心得不得了
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09After the long hike, I’m exhausted — I just need to sit down for a bit.
爬了這麼久的山，我累得慌，得坐一下爬了这么久的山，我累得慌，得坐一下
This one uses the rarer 得慌得慌 de huāng from the callout above.
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10The soup is spicy as heck — I love it.
這碗湯辣得不得了，我超愛这碗汤辣得不得了，我超爱
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