Complement

Complements are not a form of flattery (those are compliments)[1]; they're a special type of structure found in modern Mandarin and have no exact counterpart in English. The Chinese word for complement is 补语 (bǔyǔ).

Complements are a bit hard to define, but you'll generally find them following verbs (or sometimes adjectives). They can be as short as one character, or practically as long as a sentence. According to A Practical Chinese Grammar for Foreigners, complements "show the duration, quantity, degree, result, direction or possibility of an action; or to illustrate the state, number, degree of a thing"[2]. As is often the case, plentiful examples will help clarify!

Summary of complements

Summary of Complement Types
Type of Complement Verb Complement English
Result complement to finish doing
Result complement to (successfully) buy
Potential complement 得完 can finish doing
Potential complement 不懂 (to listen but) not understand
Direction complement 过来 to run over (here)
Direction complement 上去 to place on (something)
Quantity complement 两遍 to watch twice
Quantity complement 工作 三天 to work for three days
Degree complement 得很好 to wash very well
Degree complement 极了  fantastic
Location complement 在北京 to live in Beijing
Location complement 到中国 to come to China
Summary of Complement Types
Type of ComplementVerbComplementEnglish
Result complementto finish doing
to buy (successfully)
Potential complement得完can finish eating
不懂to (listen but) not understand
Direction complementto put down
过来to run over (here)
Quantity complement一次to go once
工作十个小时to work for 10 hours
Degree complement
Location complement得很好to speak (very) well
极了great

Result complement

Result complement

Potential complement

Potential complement

Direction complement

Direction complement

(Compound direction complements)

Quantity complement

Quantity complement

Degree complement

Degree complement

Location complement

Location complement

References

  1. For more info on this common mistake, see this website.
  2. A Practical Chinese Grammar for Foreigners, p. 271

Sources and further reading