Adjectival complement "de hen"

The complement 得很 (dehěn) is used after adjectives to add intensity. It is similar to adding 很 before the adjective，the main difference being that adjective + 得很 is more informal, and adds more emphasis than just 很 + adjective.

Structure

Adj.+ 得很

Examples

• 你 觉得 不 好吃？我 觉得 好吃 得很。Nǐ juédé bù hào chī? Wǒ juédé hào chī dé hěn.You don't think it tastes good? I think it's quite good.
• 不 用 担心，这次 考试 简单 得很。Bùyòng dānxīn, zhè cì kǎoshì jiǎndān dé hěn.Don't worry. This test is very simple.
• 离 我 远 点儿 ！我 现在 烦 得很！Lí wǒ yuǎn diǎn er! Wǒ xiànzài fán dé hěn!Stay away from me! I'm very upset now!
• 你 觉得 他 不 高兴？我看 他 今天 心情 好 得很！Nǐ juédé tā bù gāoxìng? Wǒ kàn tā jīntiān xīnqíng hǎo dé hěn!You think he's unhappy? From what I see, he's in good mood today!
• 我 最近 忙 得很，每天 都 要 加班。Wǒ zuìjìn máng dé hěn, měitiān dōu yào jiābān.I've been quite busy lately. I need to work late every day.
• 高峰期 路上 堵 得很，我 建议 你 上班 坐 地铁。Gāofēng qī lùshàng dǔ dé hěn, wǒ jiànyì nǐ shàngbān zuò dìtiě.The traffic is really heavy in rush hours. I suggest you take the metro to work.
• 他 这 个 人 自私 得 很，从来 不 为 别人 考虑。Tā zhè gè rén zìsī dé hěn, cónglái bù wèi biérén kǎolǜ.He's really selfish. He never thinks about other people.

See also

• Adjectival complement "de budeliao"
• Positive adjectives with "-ji le"
• Negative adjectives with "-si le"

Sources and further reading

Books

• Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 1 (pp. 50-1) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy

HSK5