Complement "-huai le"

The degree complement -坏了 (huài le) is a bit like the complement -死了, and can be used to mean "extremely" in both a a positive and a negative sense.

Structure

Adj. + 坏了

As with many other grammar patterns, both adjectives and psychological verbs work in this pattern.

Examples

In these examples, the state is negative or undesirable, so is a natural fit for -坏了.

  • 大家 都 坏了Dàjiā dōu lèi huài le.Everyone was dead-tired.
  • 我 早饭 和 中饭 都 没 吃 ,饿 坏了Wǒ zǎofàn hé zhōngfàn dōu méi chī, è huài le.I didn't eat anything for breakfast or lunch. I'm starved to death.
  • 发现 爸爸 又 去 赌钱 了 ,妈妈 坏了Fāxiàn bàba yòu qù dǔqián le, māma huài le.Discovering the father went gambling again, the mother was incensed.
  • 孩子 不见 了 ,妈妈 坏了Háizi bùjiàn le, māma huài le.The child is missing. The mother is worried sick.
  • 一个 男人 突然 拿出 一把枪 ,乘客们 都 坏了Yī gè nánrén tūrán ná chū yī bǎ qiāng, chéngkè men dōu xià huài le.A man took out a gun all of a sudden and the passengers were scared senseless.
  • 你 一晚上 没有 给 我 打 电话,我 担心 坏了Nǐ yī wǎnshang méiyǒu gěi wǒ dǎ diànhuà, wǒ dānxīn huài le.You haven't called me all night. I've been worried sick.
  • 面试官 太 严肃 了,我 都要 紧张 坏了Miànshì guān tài yánsù le, wǒ dōu yào jǐnzhāng huài le.The interviewer was so serious. I was a nervous wreck.

It's also OK to use -坏了 with positive adjectives sometimes, similar to -死了.

  • 听到 这个 好 消息 ,大家 都 高兴 坏了Tīng dào zhège hǎo xiāoxī, dàjiā dōu gāoxìng huài le.Everyone was thrilled to hear the good news.
  • 这个 笑话 让 我们 都 坏了Zhège xiàohua ràng wǒmen dōu huài le.We really got a kick out of this joke.
  • 她 终于 买到 了 演唱会 的 门票,她 激动 坏了Tā zhōngyú mǎi dào le yǎnchàng huì de ménpiào, tā jīdòng huài le.She was ecstatic when she finally got tickets to the concert.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books

HSK5