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 (dào) and 见 (jiàn)

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 later.

Examples

• 你 看 见 那 个 帅哥 了 吗 ？ Nǐ kànjiàn nàge shuàigē le ma? Did you see that handsome guy?
• 你 看到 那 个 帅哥 了 吗 ？ Nǐ kàndào nàge shuàigē le ma? Did you see that handsome guy?

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

• 你 听 见 了 吗 ？ Nǐ tīngjiàn le ma? Did you hear it?
• 你 听 到 了 吗 ？ Nǐ tīngdào le ma? Did you hear it?

Negative Form

Structure

Subj. + 没 + Verb + 到 / 见 + Obj.

This structure can be negated using 没 (méi).

Examples

• 你 没 看 到 那 个 帅哥 吗 ？ Nǐ méi kàndào nàge shuàigē ma? You didn't see that handsome guy?
• 你 没 看 见 那 个 帅哥 吗 ？ Nǐ méi kànjiàn nàge shuàigē ma? You didn't see that handsome guy?

• 我 没有 看 到 。 Wǒ méiyǒu kàndào. 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 kànjiàn. I didn't see him.

• 你 没 听 到 吗 ？ Nǐ méi tīngdào ma? You didn't hear it?
• 你 没 听 见 吗 ？ Nǐ méi tīngjiàn 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