Chinese Grammar: Telling 的 / 得 / 地 apart

You’ve seen these three words before:的/得/地. Perhaps you're having trouble keeping them straight. That’s understandable. When spoken, these three words 的/得/地 all sound the same: you pronounce them de. They all three have essential grammar functions, which is: in a sentence, they act on the different parts of the sentence by linking them together (if you want the official grammar word, they’re all called “structural particles”).

However, that’s where the similarities stop, because they don’t have the same meaning at all and cannot be used the same way in a sentence. So before they make you dizzy, here’s what you need to know to tell the three words apart!

Possession and description 的

This 的 is the most common “de” particle. In fact; it’s said to have a frequent occurrence of 6% in written Chinese -- that’s once every 20 words!

的 indicates possession, as you’ve seen at the very beginning of your learning: it indicates possession and is equivalent to our “‘s” or “of” in English.

You also use 的 to describe elements about a noun; you’re simply describing qualities that are attached to that element, or that the element possesses. The description always precedes the noun, and is linked to the noun with 的. Elements like “My cat”; “The neighbor’s cat”; “A brown cat”; “the cat that’s lying on the ground” will all use 的_.

Structure

Subject/Adjective + 的 + Noun

Examples

我的姐姐。
My older sister.

这 是 我的猫。
This is my cat.

他的书。
His book.

红色的裙子。
A red skirt.

漂亮的姑娘。
A beautiful girl.

那个 在 睡觉的人 是 谁?
Who is that person sleeping?

Complement 得

得 is placed directly after the main verb and is used to add more information about the verb. It doesn’t have a direct translation in English, but you’re used to its role without knowing it. See, when you’re saying to come out or to come over , you’re doing the exact same thing as what 得 does: you’re adding information about the verb to come.

得 is followed by complements, which we’ll cover in more detail later. For now, these examples should be clear.

Structure

Subject + Verb + 得 + information

Examples

你 说得没错。
You said it right.

她 长得好看。
She looks pretty.

我 吃得完。
I ate it all.

他 来得早。
He arrived early.

我 正在 看 得 这 本 书 很 有意思。
The book I'm reading is very interesting.

地

The third “de” particle to talk about is 地. 地 is used to turn adjectives into adverbs, to modify the verb. It’s very close to adding “-ly” to an adjective in English, and functions similarly.

Structure

Adjective + 地 + Verb

Examples

他 认真地看书。
He’s reading seriously.

高兴地说。
To talk happily

他 伤心地哭。
He cries sadly.

昨天 晚上 我 很 累，所以 早 早 地 睡觉 了。
I was tired yesterday evening so I went to bed really early.

别着急，慢慢 地 吃。
Don't worry! Take your time to eat.

A rule of thumb

As you’ve just seen, all three particles 的/得/地 have entirely different roles to play in a sentence.

• 的 marks possession
• 地 marks adverbs
• 得 appears in verbal complements
  

Here’s an easy way to keep in mind which you should use where:

• Before a noun, like 猫, use 的 ==> 我 的 猫.
• Before a verb, like 学习, use 地==> 认真 地 学习.
• Before an adjective or an adverb, like 慢, and right after a verb, like 跑, use 得 ==> 跑 得 慢.

Even native students can struggle with using these three words properly at first, kind of like some in English struggle with using properly “where vs. were”; or “its vs. it’s”. It’s to the point that some are pushing to allow 的 and 地 to be used interchangeably. Even the National College Entrance Examination in China apparently recently started accepted this interchangeable use. "Cool~ "you might want to say, but it’s still good to know which to use when!