Expressing "to be worth" doing with "zhide"

值得 (zhíde) means "to be worth" doing something, and is often placed before a verb or a verb phrase. Note that it is used to describe whether an action is worth it and cannot be used to state that something is worth a certain monetary value. For that 值 must be used on its own.

值得 as an Adverb

Structure

值得 + Verb / [Verb Phrase]

Examples

• 雷锋 助人为乐 的 精神 值得 我们 学习。Léifēng zhùrén wéi lè de jīngshén zhídé wǒmen xuéxí.The spirit of altruism merits some study.
• 巴金 的 散文 很 值得 一看。Bājīn de sǎnwén hěn zhídé yī kàn. Ba Jin's prose deserves a look.
• 这 件 小事 不 值得 你 担心。Zhè jiàn xiǎoshì bù zhídé nǐ dānxīn.This little thing isn't worth your time.

值得 as an Adjective

值得 can also be used as an adjective - on its own, or following a verb phrase.

Structure

([Verb Phrase]) + 值得

Examples

• 值得吗？ 值得。Zhídé ma? Zhídé.Is it worth it? Yes. It's worth it.
• 上大学(很)值得。Shàng dàxué (hěn) zhídé.Attending college is worth it.
• 学汉语是值得的。Xué Hànyǔ shì zhídé de.Studying Chinese is really worth it.

When expressing that something is not worth doing one can say something is either 不值得 or 值不得.

Sources and Further Reading

• HSK Standard Course 4上 (pp. 70) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• 现代汉语八百词 (pp. 677-678) 卓越汉语－公司实战篇 →buy

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