Verbs in Action: Verb Complements in Chinese
The Magic Building Blocks That Make Verbs Super Powerful!
Imagine you have a toy robot. The robot can walk. But what if you want to tell it WHERE to walk? Or if it walked SUCCESSFULLY? Or HOW WELL it walked? In Chinese, we add special “helper words” after verbs to give them superpowers! These helpers are called verb complements.
Think of it like adding sprinkles, chocolate sauce, and a cherry to ice cream. The ice cream is still ice cream, but now it’s AMAZING ice cream with extra details!
🧭 Part 1: Directional Verbs
What Are They?
Directional verbs are like GPS for actions! They tell us WHERE something moves.
There are two main directions in Chinese:
- 来 (lái) = coming TOWARD the speaker (like a ball rolling to you)
- 去 (qù) = going AWAY from the speaker (like throwing a ball away)
Simple Examples
| Verb + Direction | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 走来 | zǒu lái | walk toward (me) |
| 走去 | zǒu qù | walk away |
| 跑来 | pǎo lái | run toward |
| 跑去 | pǎo qù | run away |
Story Time!
Little Ming is in the kitchen. His dog Dudu is in the garden.
“Dudu! 跑来！跑来！” (Dudu! Run here! Run here!)
Dudu runs TOWARD Ming. That’s 来 (lái)!
Then Ming throws a ball…
“去拿球！” (Go get the ball!)
Dudu runs AWAY to get it. That’s 去 (qù)!
🎯 Part 2: Directional Complements
What Are They?
Directional complements are like giving your verb a FULL ADDRESS, not just “toward” or “away”!
They combine:
- A motion verb (up, down, in, out, etc.)
- + 来/去 (toward or away)
The Direction Family
| Chinese | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 上 | shàng | up |
| 下 | xià | down |
| 进 | jìn | in/enter |
| 出 | chū | out/exit |
| 回 | huí | back/return |
| 过 | guò | across/over |
| 起 | qǐ | rise up |
Combining Them!
Now add 来 or 去:
| Combo | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 上来 | shàng lái | come up (toward me) |
| 上去 | shàng qù | go up (away from me) |
| 下来 | xià lái | come down |
| 下去 | xià qù | go down |
| 进来 | jìn lái | come in |
| 进去 | jìn qù | go in |
| 出来 | chū lái | come out |
| 出去 | chū qù | go out |
Real Examples
Scenario: You’re on the 2nd floor, calling your friend on the 1st floor.
快上来！(Kuài shàng lái!) “Come up quickly!”
Scenario: You’re inside, telling someone at the door.
请进来！(Qǐng jìn lái!) “Please come in!”
Scenario: It’s smoky. You’re inside telling people to leave.
快出去！(Kuài chū qù!) “Go out quickly!”
The Magic Pattern
VERB + Direction + 来/去
Example:
- 走 (walk) + 进 (in) + 来 (toward) = 走进来 (walk in toward me)
- 跑 (run) + 出 (out) + 去 (away) = 跑出去 (run out away)
✅ Part 3: Resultative Complements
What Are They?
Resultative complements tell us the RESULT of an action. Did it work? What happened?
It’s like saying:
- “I looked” vs “I looked AND FOUND IT!”
- “I cleaned” vs “I cleaned AND IT’S CLEAN NOW!”
Common Resultative Complements
| Complement | Pinyin | Result Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 完 | wán | finished/completed |
| 好 | hǎo | done well/ready |
| 到 | dào | achieved/reached |
| 见 | jiàn | perceived (saw/heard) |
| 懂 | dǒng | understood |
| 会 | huì | learned (a skill) |
| 错 | cuò | wrongly/mistakenly |
| 对 | duì | correctly |
Story Time!
Little Mei is doing homework.
她写完了作业。(Tā xiě wán le zuòyè.) “She finished writing the homework.”
Without 完, we don’t know if she finished!
她听懂了老师的话。(Tā tīng dǒng le lǎoshī de huà.) “She listened AND understood the teacher’s words.”
Without 懂, maybe she heard but didn’t understand!
More Examples
| Sentence | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 我找到了钥匙 | Wǒ zhǎo dào le yàoshi | I searched and FOUND the key |
| 我看见了他 | Wǒ kàn jiàn le tā | I looked and SAW him |
| 他学会了游泳 | Tā xué huì le yóuyǒng | He studied and LEARNED swimming |
| 我写错了 | Wǒ xiě cuò le | I wrote it WRONG |
| 你说对了 | Nǐ shuō duì le | You said it CORRECTLY |
The Pattern
VERB + Result = Complete Action
- 看 (look) + 见 (perceive) = 看见 (see/saw)
- 听 (listen) + 懂 (understand) = 听懂 (understand by listening)
- 学 (study) + 会 (master) = 学会 (learn/master)
🔮 Part 4: Potential Complements
What Are They?
Potential complements tell us if we CAN or CAN’T do something. Not about permission, but about ABILITY or POSSIBILITY!
The magic formula:
- 得 (de) = CAN (able to achieve the result)
- 不 (bù) = CAN’T (unable to achieve the result)
How They Work
Take any resultative complement and add 得 or 不:
| Resultative | Potential (can) | Potential (can’t) |
|---|---|---|
| 看见 (see) | 看得见 | 看不见 |
| 听懂 (understand) | 听得懂 | 听不懂 |
| 吃完 (finish eating) | 吃得完 | 吃不完 |
| 做好 (do well) | 做得好 | 做不好 |
Story Time!
Grandpa is far away at the park.
爷爷在那边。你看得见吗？ “Grandpa is over there. Can you see him?”
Little Bao squints…
太远了，我看不见。 “Too far, I can’t see.”
Mom brings binoculars…
现在我看得见了！ “Now I CAN see!”
Common Examples
| Sentence | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 这个菜太多，我吃不完 | Zhège cài tài duō, wǒ chī bù wán | This dish is too much, I can’t finish it |
| 他说得太快，我听不懂 | Tā shuō de tài kuài, wǒ tīng bù dǒng | He speaks too fast, I can’t understand |
| 这本书很简单，我看得懂 | Zhè běn shū hěn jiǎndān, wǒ kàn de dǒng | This book is simple, I can understand it |
| 这个字太小，看不清楚 | Zhège zì tài xiǎo, kàn bù qīngchu | This character is too small, can’t see clearly |
Quick Pattern
VERB + 得 + Complement = CAN do it
VERB + 不 + Complement = CAN'T do it
📊 Part 5: Degree Complements
What Are They?
Degree complements tell us HOW WELL or TO WHAT DEGREE an action is done.
Think of it like rating something:
- She sings. (Okay, but how well?)
- She sings BEAUTIFULLY! (Wow, now I know!)
The Magic Word: 得 (de)
The pattern is:
VERB + 得 + Description
Examples with Ratings!
| Sentence | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 她唱得很好 | Tā chàng de hěn hǎo | She sings very well |
| 他跑得很快 | Tā pǎo de hěn kuài | He runs very fast |
| 我睡得很晚 | Wǒ shuì de hěn wǎn | I sleep very late |
| 弟弟吃得太多 | Dìdi chī de tài duō | Little brother eats too much |
| 她说中文说得很流利 | Tā shuō Zhōngwén shuō de hěn liúlì | She speaks Chinese very fluently |
Story Time!
Sports Day at school!
Teacher: 谁跑得最快？ (Who runs the fastest?)
小明跑得很快！(Xiǎo Míng runs very fast!) 但是小红跑得更快！(But Xiǎo Hóng runs even faster!) 小军跑得最快！(Xiǎo Jūn runs the fastest!)
Asking “How Well?”
Use 怎么样 (zěnmeyàng):
你今天睡得怎么样？ “How did you sleep today?”
我睡得很好！ “I slept very well!”
Important Pattern Note
When there’s an object, repeat the verb:
她说中文说得很好。
(She speaks Chinese speaks very well.)
Or put object first:
中文，她说得很好。
(Chinese, she speaks very well.)
🎨 The Complete Picture
graph TD A["Verb Complements"] --> B["Directional Verbs"] A --> C["Directional Complements"] A --> D["Resultative Complements"] A --> E["Potential Complements"] A --> F["Degree Complements"] B --> B1["来 toward"] B --> B2["去 away"] C --> C1["上/下/进/出 + 来/去"] D --> D1["完/好/到/懂/会"] E --> E1["V + 得 + Comp = CAN"] E --> E2[V + 不 + Comp = CAN'T] F --> F1["V + 得 + how well"]
🌟 Quick Summary
| Type | What It Tells Us | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Directional Verbs | Basic direction (toward/away) | 走来、跑去 |
| Directional Complements | Full path of movement | 走进来、跑出去 |
| Resultative Complements | Result of action | 看见、听懂、写完 |
| Potential Complements | Ability to achieve result | 看得见、听不懂 |
| Degree Complements | How well/how much | 跑得快、说得好 |
💪 You Did It!
You now understand the FIVE types of verb complements in Chinese! They’re like different tools in a toolbox:
- Directional Verbs = Your GPS (which way?)
- Directional Complements = Your detailed map (exact path!)
- Resultative Complements = Your success tracker (did it work?)
- Potential Complements = Your ability meter (can you do it?)
- Degree Complements = Your quality rating (how good?)
Start listening for these in Chinese songs, shows, and conversations. Once you spot them, you’ll see them EVERYWHERE!
你现在学会了！(Nǐ xiànzài xué huì le!) “You’ve learned it now!”
See that? That’s a resultative complement (学会) telling you that you SUCCESSFULLY learned! How cool is that?