Adjectival complement "de budeliao"

Used by itself, 不得了 (bùdéliǎo) means "terrible" or "awful." But as a complement, -得不得了 (de bùdéliǎo) can be used to suggest a situation is serious or may result in terrible consequences. It can also be used in a positive sense, such as in English when we say "I'm terribly happy."

Structure

Adj. + 得不得了

Examples

• 爸爸 气 得 不得了，你 要 倒霉 啦。Bàba qì de bùdéliǎo, nǐ yào dǎoméi la.Dad is super angry. You're in for it.
• 她的 妈妈 刚 去世， 她 难过 得 不得了。Tā de māma gāng qùshì, tā nánguò de bùdéliǎo.Her mom just passed away, so she is extremely upset.
• 今天 冷 得 不得了，怎么 会 这么 冷？Jīntiān lěng de bùdéliǎo, zěnme huì zhème lěng?It's terribly cold today! How can it be this cold?
• 最近 有 很 多 项目，忙 得 不得了。Zuìjìn yǒu hěn duō xiàngmù, máng de bùdéliǎo.There are so many projects lately. We're crazy busy.
• 升职 的 事情 让 他 高兴 得 不得了。Shēngzhí de shìqing ràng tā gāoxìng de bùdéliǎo.Getting promoted made him extremely happy.
• 他 跟 老总 的 关系 好 得 不得了，你 一定 要 小心！Tā gēn lǎozǒng de guānxì hǎo de bùdéliǎo, nǐ yīdìng yào xiǎoxīn!He has a really good relationship with the big boss. You need to be careful!
• 他 现在 火 得 不得了，每个人 都 知道 他 。Tā xiànzài huǒ de bùdéliǎo, měi gè rén dōu zhīdào tā.He's terribly hot right now. Everyone knows him.
• 现在 车 太 多 ，路上 堵 得 不得了。Xiànzài chē tài duō, lùshang dǔ de bùdéliǎoThere are too many cars nowadays, so traffic is terrible.
• 自从 她 说 要 给 我 一个 礼物 ，我 好奇 得 不得了。Zìcóng tā shuō yào gěi wǒ yī gè lǐwù, wǒ hàoqí de bùdéliǎo.Ever since she said she wanted to give me a gift I've been terribly curious.
• 这 件 衣服 ，我 喜欢 得 不得了。Zhè jiàn yīfu, wǒ xǐhuan de bùdéliǎo.I absolutely love these clothes.

As with many other grammar patterns, -得不得了 works with both adjectives and psychological verbs.

得不得了 vs. 不得不

A word to the wise: don't confuse 得不得了 (de bùdéliǎo) with 不得不 (bùdébù).

See also

• Adjectival complement "de hen"
• Descriptive complements
• Negative adjectives with "-si le"
• Positive adjectives with "-ji le"

Sources and further reading

Books

• Boya Chinese Lower Intermediate 2 (博雅汉语准中级加速篇) (pp. 134-5) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• New Practical Chinese Reader 5 (新实用汉语课本5) (pp. 53) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (3rd ed) (pp. 262) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 2 (pp. 159) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy

HSK5