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

Examples with a Negative Connotation

• 老板 气 坏了 。The boss was angry to death.
• 我 早饭 和 中饭 都 没 吃 ，饿 坏了 。I didn't eat anything for breakfast or lunch. I'm starved to death.
• 孩子 不见 了 ，妈妈 急 坏了 。The child is missing. The mother is worried to death.
• 开会 开了 一 天 ，大家 都 累 坏了 了 。This meeting lasted a whole day today. Everyone was exhausted.
• 看完 那个 恐怖 电影 ，我 吓 坏了 。That ghost film scared me to death.

Examples with a Positive Connotation

这类形容词非常有限。

• 听到 这个 好 消息 ，大家 都 高兴 坏了。Everyone were thrilled to hear the good news.
• 这个 笑话 让 我们 都 乐 坏了 。We really got a kick out of this joke.
• 收到 录取 通知书 ，他们 全家 都 高兴 坏了 。His whole family were so thrilled when he received the admission letter.

See also

• Adjectives with "-ji le"
• Negative adjectives with "-si le"
• Resultative Complement "kai"

Sources and further reading

Books

• New Practical Chinese Reader 4 (新实用汉语课本4) (pp. 104) →buy

HSK5