Basic Grammar: all 87 lessons free
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V 得 + Adj — How Well, How Late, How Fast
程度补语——他踢得很好、我说得不好
他踢得很好, 我说得不好, 他睡得很晚, 她起得很早: 得 after the verb opens a space for how it went. Ask with 得好吗 or 得好不好.
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Memory hook
S + V + 得 + Adj · S + (V) O + V + 得 + Adj
How it went
The deck's five verbs, with and without their objects, then the questions. Hear 得 open the door to the judgement.
Tap any line to hear it
How well做得好不好
No pressure — just making it stick.
他踢足球踢____很好。
Tā tīzúqiú tī ____ Hěn hǎo.
He plays football well.
You slept badly. Which reply?
He doesn't sing too well.
Tap the tiles in order — it checks itself when the sentence is complete. Tap a placed tile to take it back.
Your sentence
你打乒乓球打得____？
Nǐ dǎpīng pāngqiú dǎ de ____?
Are you good at ping-pong?
Your turn — say it
我说汉语说得不好。
I don't speak Chinese well.
她起床起得很____。
Tā qǐchuáng qǐde hěn ____.
She gets up very early.
Judge each action with the right piece.
Tap a word to fill the next gap; tap a filled sentence to clear it. Every word is used once.
Word bank
0/5Talents, in pictures看图说本事
No pressure — just making it stick.
Four things the deck asks how well you do. Match each picture, then judge it with 得.
Tap a picture, then choose its word. Picked wrong? Tap that picture and choose again. Match all the cards to finish.
Your turn — say it
你昨天晚上睡得好吗？
Did you sleep well last night?
Chinese people don't play football well.
Tap the tiles in order — it checks itself when the sentence is complete. Tap a placed tile to take it back.
Your sentence
Your turn — say it
他踢足球踢得很好。
He plays football well.
This lesson's characters
得 itself, and two of the things people do well or badly: singing and jumping.
(particle) de; to get (dé); must (děi)
会two ideas joined
A step 彳 and, on the right, what was once a hand holding a shell — money picked up on the road: to get, dé. From getting came the grammar: 得 de after a verb holds the result you get from doing it — 说得好, 睡得晚. Read děi it means must — 我得走了, I have to go. One character, three readings, and the light one is the one you will say most.
to sing
形meaning + sound
A mouth 口 and 昌, two suns stacked, for the sound: to sing is a mouth full of brightness. 唱歌 is to sing songs, and 他唱得不太好 is the kind verdict on a friend at karaoke. KTV is where China does its singing, and 唱得好不好 is the question of the night.
to jump; to dance
形meaning + sound
A foot 足 and 兆 for the sound: what the foot does when it leaves the ground. 跳 is to jump, 跳舞 is to dance, 跳远 is the long jump the deck asks about — 你跳得远吗？ — and 心跳 is the heart beating. 跳舞跳得好不好？ is the question at every Chinese wedding.
Take these with you
Everything worth taking away. Tap any line to hear it.
Words 生词
Characters 汉字
Before you go课后回顾
- Judge yourself on the deck's six — cooking, singing, dancing, and your country's driving, eating, spice — with 得. Six honest verdicts.
- Retire 我说得不好 this week. The next time someone praises your Chinese, answer 还可以，还在学 instead.
- Feel the object rule: 他踢得很好 is fine, 他踢足球踢得很好 says what. The verb comes twice, and the second one wears the 得.