得 sits between a verb and a following adjective, describing how the action turned out — the result or state that came from doing it. In Mandarin, the result always comes after the action.
一 Structure
Verb + 得 + Adjective
你走得很快
You’re walking fast.
他睡得非常好
He slept very well.
媽媽妈妈說说得不清楚清楚
Mom didn’t speak clearly.
你做得很好
You did very well.
賣卖得得不太不太好好
Not selling well.
二 Adding an Object
There are four ways to fit an object into this pattern. Whichever one you use, 得 always stays right after the verb it modifies — never after the object.
Beautiful handwriting is taken seriously in Chinese-speaking culture — many kids are taught from an early age that how you write reflects patience, discipline, and attention to detail, not just legibility.
3. Subject + 的 + Object + Verb + 得 + Adjective
A common everyday form — though the meaning can shift slightly when the object isn’t a skill or ability.
他的中文說说得很好
He speaks Chinese very well.
你的字寫写得很難看难看
Your handwriting is hard to read.
媽媽的妈妈的飯饭做得很好吃
Mom’s cooking is very good.
我的書书看得非常慢
I read (my) books very slowly. — can mean either “I read slowly in general” or “I’m reading this particular book slowly”
Rare in casual conversation, but the most formal and unambiguous option.
他說说中文說说得很好
He speaks Chinese very well.
你寫写字寫写得很難看难看
Your handwriting is hard to read.
媽媽妈妈做飯饭做得很好吃
Mom’s cooking is very good.
我看書书看得非常慢
I read books very slowly.
三 Common Mistakes
❌ 他說说中文得很好
✅ 他說说中文說说得很好
得 has to attach to the verb, not the object right in front of it — that’s why the verb gets repeated here.
❌ 他說说中文很好
✅ 他中文說说得很好
Without 得, there’s nothing linking the verb to the adjective describing it.
❌ 我做飯做饭做得很難难(meaning to say “Doing the cooking is hard for me”)
✅ 我覺得觉得做飯做饭很難难
After 做得, we describe how an action is performed, the degree to which it is performed, or the result of the action. However, 難难 describes the difficulty of the activity itself, rather than how the action is performed.
四 Don’t Confuse This With Topic-Comment
Chinese has a separate Topic-Comment structure, where an adjective can describe a topic directly with no 得 at all. This is where learners often get tripped up, expecting 得 that isn’t actually needed.
Topic
Comment
學学中文
超級超级難难
寫字写字
真煩烦
看書看书
很累
Here, the adjective is simply commenting on the topic as a whole — not describing the result of a specific instance of the verb. That’s the difference: 得 links a verb to how that action’s result played out; Topic-Comment just states an adjective as a general observation about the topic.
五 Practice
Pick the correctly formed sentence.
Question 1 of 10
“She drinks a lot of wine.”
得 has to link 喝 to 很多 — it can’t be dropped here.
“You learn Chinese too fast!”
得 is needed to connect 學学 (the action) to how fast it’s going.
“Learning Chinese is super hard.” (a general observation, not describing one specific attempt)
This is Topic-Comment — a general statement about learning Chinese, not 得 describing one instance.
“He speaks Chinese very well.” (spoken, object fronted before the subject)
得 comes after 說, not before it.
“Your handwriting is hard to read.” (most formal, unambiguous form)
The verb 寫 is repeated, with 得 attached to the second one — not squeezed between the verb and its object.
“You write beautifully.” (a general observation about your writing)
This is Topic-Comment — commenting generally on your handwriting, so no 得 is needed.
“Mom’s cooking is very good.” (的 + object form)
This structure needs 的 between the subject and the object: 媽媽的飯.
“She reads slowly.” (a general trait, not one specific reading session)
A general trait like this is Topic-Comment — no 得 needed.
