Part 3: Differences Among 的 (de), 得 (de) and 地 (de)?

Updated on December 27, 2022

This is Part 3, and the final section about understanding differences among 的 (de), 得 (de) and 地 (de). In this blog post, we will discover 地 (de). Feel free to check out 的 (de) in Part 1, and 得 (de) in Part 2.

Well, 地 is normally used to modify verbs. It is usually placed before a verb.

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Part I

Introduction to Chinese History (Part 1).

地 is an adverbial marker, which usually goes after an adverbial phrase and before a verb. 地 always has an adjective before it to describe the way in which the action has been carried out.

Examples:

I stand up (Wǒ zhàn le qǐlái, 我站了起来)
I stand up slowly (Wǒ mànman de zhàn le qǐlái, 我慢慢地站了起来)

Pro tips: 慢慢地 is used to describe the way or how I stand up.

Part Ⅱ

“地 + verb” can also be used to indicate an attitude or mood of the subject. For example:

He is eating a cake (Tā zhèng zài chī dàngāo, 他正在吃蛋糕)
He is eating cake happily (Tā zhèng zài gāoxìng de chī dàngāo, 他正在高兴地吃蛋糕)

Without using 地 in this sentence, we have no idea about his attitude or mood.

Pro tips: 高兴地 is used here to tell us he is happy.

He went back home (Tā huíjiā le, 他回家了)
He went home angrily (Tā shēngqì de huí jiā le, 他生气地回家了)

Without using 地 in this sentence, we wouldn’t know about his mood while returning to home.

Pro tips: 生气地 shows us that he went home angrily.

*What are the differences among 的 (de), 得 (de) and 地 (de)?*

Conclusion

…的 + Noun

If you would like to describe or modify a noun in Chinese, you can put all the detailed information before a noun. You should pay attention to when we can omit 的.

V 得 + adj:

To give comments or to show how well someone does or is doing something.

V 得+ possibility complement 吃得完 (chīde wán)

Negative: V 不+….. 吃不完(chī bù wán)

Complement words and always acts as a result of the verb. 吃+完/看+清楚/…..

V 得+complement: A certain state.

Too busy to eat (忙得没时间吃饭, máng de méi shí jiān chī fàn)

…地 + verb

I. To describe the way in which the action has been carried out.

慢慢地跑 (mànman de pǎo)

II. To indicate an attitude or mood of the subject.

生气地离开 (shēngqì de líkāi)

Questions

Can you write Chinese for the following sentences?

The women who is wearing a hat is my older sister.
Beijing is the capital city of China. Capital (首都 shǒu dū).
He left angrily.
I am too happy to sleep.
I am too scared to say anything.

Can you understand the meaning of the following sentences?

1. 在中国，你离得开支付宝吗？你离不开什么？(Zài zhōngguó ，nǐ lí de kāi zhīfùbǎo ma？nǐ lí bú kāi shénme)

2. 你觉得你的汉语说得怎么样？(Nǐ juéde nǐ de hànyǔ shuō de zěnmeyàng)

3. 你觉得中国人的汉语说得快不快？(Nǐ juéde zhōngguórén de hànyǔ shuō de kuàibúkuài )

4. 工作的时候，你是不是经常忙得没时间喝水？(Gōngzuò de shíhòu ，nǐ shìbúshì jīngcháng máng de méi shíjiān hē shuǐ )

All right! Pretty much covered in the previous three posts. Hope you enjoyed learning differences among 的 (de), 得 (de) and 地 (de). You are encouraged to check out 的 (de) in Part 1, and 得 (de) in Part 2.

Feel free to revert in the comment section.