Result complements "-dao" and "-jian"

Two of the most common result complements in Chinese are 到 (dào) and 见 (jiàn). On this page we're only going to be talking about verbs related to the senses ("see," hear," etc.), and for this usage, the two are interchangeable.

Verb with "到" and "见"

Structure

Result complements are a huge topic in Chinese grammar, but you can approach them in stages. The structure you come across the most is a verb with 到 (dào):

Subj. + Verb + 到 + Obj.

What 到 (dào) does is indicate that the outcome of the verb is achieved - what its result is. Without a result complement, the sentence would describe only the action itself. To illustrate, 看 (kàn) "to look" is the action of turning your head in a particular direction and focusing your eyes, whereas 看到 (kàn dào)," to see," is the result of your brain taking in the visual input. It may sound a little hokey, but it really is possible to "look but not see," and Chinese makes a clear distinction between the action and the result.

The complement 见 (jiàn) is very similar to 到 (dào), and it is used in the same way:

Subj. + Verb + 见 + Obj.

However, there is a difference. 见 (jiàn) is generally only used after verbs involving one of the senses, like 听 (tīng) and 看 (kàn), whereas 到 (dào) can be attached to a large variety of verbs (which we will discuss at a higher level on Tricky uses of "dao").

Examples

• 你 看 见 那 个 帅哥 了 吗 ？ Nǐ kàn jiàn nà ge shuàigē le ma? Did you see that handsome boy?
• 你 看 到 那 个 帅哥 了 吗 ？ Nǐ kàn dào nà ge shuàigē le ma? Did you see that handsome boy?

• 我 看 见 了 。 We didn't say what "I" saw; you have to base it on context.Wǒ kàn jiàn le. I saw him.
• 我 看 到 了 。 Wǒ kàn dào le. I saw him.

• 你 听 见 了 吗 ？ Nǐ tīng jiàn le ma? Did you hear it?
• 你 听 到 了 吗 ？ Nǐ tīng dào le ma? Did you hear it?

Negative form

Structure

Subj. + 没 + Verb + 到/见 + Obj.

As in the last sentence, this structure can be negated using 没 (méi).

Examples

• 你 没 看 到 那 个 帅哥 吗 ？ Nǐ méi kàn dào nà ge shuàigē ma? You didn't see that handsome guy?
• 你 没 看 见 那 个 帅哥 吗 ？ Nǐ méi kàn jiàn nà ge shuàigē ma? You didn't see that handsome guy?

• 我 没有 看 到 。 Wǒ méiyǒu kàn dào. I didn't see him.
• 我 没有 看 见 。 We didn't say what "I" didn't see; you have to base it on context.Wǒ méiyǒu kàn jiàn. I didn't see him.

• 你 没 听 到 吗 ？ Nǐ méi tīng dào ma? You didn't hear it?
• 你 没 听 见 吗 ？ Nǐ méi tīng jiàn ma? You didn't hear it?

See also

• Result complement "-wan" for finishing
• Result complement "-qilai"
• Result complement "-cuo"

Sources and further reading

Books

• Short-term Spoken Chinese: Threshold Vol. 2 (汉语口语入门篇下) (p. 92) →buy
• Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar (p. 109) →buy
• 40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course (基础汉语40课上册） (pp. 205-6)→buy