Adjectival complement "de budeliao"

Level

B2 / HSK5
Level

B2
Level

HSK5
Similar to
- Negative adjectives with "-si le" (A2)
- Adjectival complement "de hen" (B2)
- Advanced degree complements (B2)
Similar to
- Negative adjectives with "-si le" (HSK4)
- Adjectival complement "de hen" (HSK5)
- Advanced degree complements (HSK5)
Used for

Expressing degree, Emphasizing, Expressing quality
Keywords

不, 得, 不得了

Used by itself, 不得了 (bùdéliǎo) means "terrible" or "awful." But as a complement, -得不得了 (de bùdéliǎo) can be used to suggest a situation is serious or may result in terrible consequences. It can also be used in a positive sense, such as in English when we say "I'm terribly happy."

Structure

Adj. + 得不得了

Examples

爸爸气 得不得了，你要倒霉啦。Bàba qì de bùdéliǎo, nǐ yào dǎoméi la.Dad is super angry. You're in for it.
她的妈妈刚去世，她难过 得不得了。Tā de māma gāng qùshì, tā nánguò de bùdéliǎo.Her mom just passed away, so she is extremely upset.
今天冷 得不得了，怎么会这么冷？Jīntiān lěng de bùdéliǎo, zěnme huì zhème lěng?It's terribly cold today! How can it be this cold?
最近有很多项目，忙 得不得了。Zuìjìn yǒu hěn duō xiàngmù, máng de bùdéliǎo.There are so many projects lately. We're crazy busy.
升职的事情让他高兴 得不得了。Shēngzhí de shìqing ràng tā gāoxìng de bùdéliǎo.Getting promoted made him extremely happy.
他跟老总的关系好 得不得了，你一定要小心！Tā gēn lǎozǒng de guānxì hǎo de bùdéliǎo, nǐ yīdìng yào xiǎoxīn!He has a really good relationship with the big boss. You need to be careful!
他现在火 得不得了，每个人都知道他。Tā xiànzài huǒ de bùdéliǎo, měi gè rén dōu zhīdào tā.He's terribly hot right now. Everyone knows him.
现在车太多，路上堵 得不得了。Xiànzài chē tài duō, lùshang dǔ de bùdéliǎoThere are too many cars nowadays, so traffic is terrible.
自从她说要给我一个礼物，我好奇 得不得了。Zìcóng tā shuō yào gěi wǒ yī gè lǐwù, wǒ hàoqí de bùdéliǎo.Ever since she said she wanted to give me a gift I've been terribly curious.
这件衣服，我喜欢 得不得了。Zhè jiàn yīfu, wǒ xǐhuan de bùdéliǎo.I absolutely love these clothes.

As with many other grammar patterns, -得不得了 works with both adjectives and psychological verbs.

得不得了 vs. 不得不

A word to the wise: don't confuse 得不得了 (de bùdéliǎo) with 不得不 (bùdébù).

Sources and further reading

Books