Potential complement

Level

B1 / HSK3 and HSK4
Level

B1
Level

HSK3, HSK4
Similar to
Similar to
- Potential complement "-bu dong" for not understanding (HSK2)
- Direction complement (HSK3, HSK4)
- Advanced potential complements (HSK5)
- Advanced result complements "zhu", "kai", and "chulai" (HSK5)
- Complement "-zhao" (HSK5)
Used for

Describing actions
Keywords

不, 得

Verbs can take potential complements that indicate whether or not the action is actually possible. They are useful in Chinese to say if an action can take place.

Affirmative Pattern

Structurally, potential complements are closely related to both result complements and direction complements, so it helps to be familiar with those first. The most important and commonly used potential complements are derived from other complements such as the following:

Verb + 见 e.g. 看见, 听见 (result complements)
Verb + 懂 e.g. 看懂, 听懂 (result complements)
Verb + 完 e.g. 吃完, 做完, 用完, 花完 (result complements)
Verb + Adj. e.g. 看清楚, 听明白, 洗干净 (result complements)
Verb + 到 e.g. 找到, 买到, 收到 (result complements)
Verb + Direction e.g. 上来, 下去, 进去, 起来, 走过去, 爬上去 (direction complements)

Potential complements can be positive or negative. What this means is fairly intuitive - potential complements can be used to express that something can happen or that it can't.

Structure

Verb + 得 + Complement

Examples

他一个人吃得完这么多饭吗？Tā yīgèrén chī de wán zhème duō fàn ma? Can he eat all the food by himself?
我找不到我的手机了。Wǒ zhǎo bu dào wǒ de shǒujī le.I can't find my cellphone.
在上海买得到这个牌子的手表吗？Zài Shànghǎi mǎi de dào zhè gè páizi de shǒubiǎo ma? Can you buy this brand of watch in Shanghai?
早上五点出发，孩子们起得来吗？ Zǎoshang wǔdiǎn chūfā, háizi men qǐ de lái ma? We're leaving at five a.m.; will the kids be able to come?
这么高的山，你爬得上去吗？Zhème gāo de shān, nǐ pá de shàngqù ma? The mountain is so high. Can you make it to the top?

Negative Pattern

Structure

Verb + 不 + Complement

Examples

大家都看不懂这句话。Dàjiā dōu kàn bu dǒng zhè jù huà.Nobody can understand this sentence.
你的声音太小了，我们听不见。Nǐ de shēngyīn tài xiǎo le, wǒmen tīng bu jiàn.Your voice is too soft. We can't hear you.
我没戴眼镜，看不清楚。Wǒ méi dài yǎnjìng, kàn bu qīngchu.When I don't wear glasses, I can't see clearly.
这件衬衫太脏了，我洗不干净。Zhè jiàn chènshān tài zāng le, wǒ xǐ bu gānjìng.This shirt is too dirty, I can't clean it.
门太小了，我的车进不去。Mén tài xiǎo le, wǒ de chē jìn bu qù.The door is too small. My car can't go through it.