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 累 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 气 坏了 。Fāxiàn bàba yòu qù dǔqián le, māma qì huài le.Discovering the father went gambling again, the mother was incensed.
• 孩子 不见 了 ，妈妈 急 坏了 。Háizi bùjiàn le, māma jí 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 吓 坏了 。Yī gè nánrén tūrán ná chū yī bǎ qiāng, chéngkèmen 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 乐 坏了 。Zhège xiàohua ràng wǒmen dōu lè 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

• Adjectives with "-ji le"
• Negative adjectives with "-si le"
• Advanced degree complements

Sources and further reading

Books

• New Practical Chinese Reader 4 (新实用汉语课本4) (pp. 104) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy

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