Expressing "to be worth" doing with "zhide"

值得 (zhíde) means "to be worth" doing something, and is often placed before a verb or a verb phrase. Note that it is used to describe whether an action is worth it and cannot be used to state that something is worth a certain monetary value. For that 值 must be used on its own.

值得 as an Adverb

Structure

值得 + Verb / [Verb Phrase]

Examples

• 雷锋 助人为乐 的 精神 值得 我们 学习。Léifēng zhùrén wéi lè de jīngshén zhídé wǒmen xuéxí.The spirit of altruism merits some study.
• 巴金 的 散文 很 值得 一看。Bājīn de sǎnwén hěn zhídé yī kàn. Ba Jin's prose deserves a look.
• 这 件 小事 不 值得 你 担心。Zhè jiàn xiǎoshì bù zhídé nǐ dānxīn.This little thing isn't worth your time.

值得 as an Adjective

值得 can also be used as an adjective - on its own, or following a verb phrase.

Structure

([Verb Phrase]) + 值得

Examples

• 值得 吗？ 值得。Zhídé ma? Zhídé.Is it worth it? Yes. It's worth it.
• 上 大学 (很) 值得。Shàng dàxué (hěn) zhídé.Attending college is worth it.
• 学 汉语 是 值得 的。Xué Hànyǔ shì zhídé de.Studying Chinese is really worth it.

• 你 觉得 做 什么 事情 是 值得 的？
• 没有 什么 是 值得 的。

When expressing that something is not worth doing one can say something is either 不值得 or 值不得.

Sources and Further Reading

• HSK Standard Course 4上 (pp. 70) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• 现代汉语八百词 (pp. 677-678) 卓越汉语－公司实战篇 →buy

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