HSK 5
程度补语2
chéng dù bǔ yǔ 2
Complement of Degree 2 (程度补语2)
Explanation
This is a complement of degree (an element placed after a verb/adjective indicating the degree of a state), used to emphasize a very high degree of an adjective or psychological verb (happy, afraid, worried, sad...).
(1) adjective/psychological verb + 得 (de) + 不得了 (bùdéliǎo) / 慌 (huāng) / 厉害 (lìhai) → e.g. 开心得不得了 (extremely happy), 累得慌 (dead tired), 害怕得厉害 (terribly afraid). (2) adjective/verb + 坏了 (huài le) / 透了 (tòu le) → e.g. 担心坏了 (worried sick), 坏透了 (thoroughly bad), 伤透心 (heartbroken to the core). Here 得 (de) is a particle linking the verb/adjective to the complement.
When you want to express an emotion/state at an extreme level in colloquial speech. 得慌 is usually tied to an uncomfortable feeling (累得慌 tired, 饿得慌 hungry); 透了 is usually tied to a negative meaning (坏透了, 糟透了 zāo tòu le: terrible).
得不得了/得厉害 need the character 得; but 坏了/透了 attach directly after the word, with NO 得 (say 坏透了, not 坏得透了).
Vietnamese learners often mistakenly add 得 to the 透了/坏了 pattern, or use 透了 for a positive meaning (透了 is mainly used with a negative tone). Also, do not combine 很/非常 with these patterns (they are already superlative, so no degree adverb is needed).
Examples
Dad agreed to go to the park, and his son was overjoyed.
I'm just dead tired; a bit of rest and I'll be fine.
Hearing that she had to get an injection, she was terribly afraid.
It's so late and the child still hasn't come home; Teacher Zhang is worried sick.
This matter has already broken her heart completely; everyone, please don't bring it up again.
Being rejected by someone for the first time, my mood was terrible beyond words.
Practice
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Learn “程度补语2” effectively
The grammar point “程度补语2” (Complement of Degree 2 (程度补语2)) is one of the key structures at HSK 5. To use it fluently, you need to understand the contexts where it's used and practice regularly.
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