Result complements "-dao" and "-jian"

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Two of the most common result complements in Chinese are 到 (dào) and 见 (jiàn). On this page we're only going to be talking about verbs related to the senses ("see," hear," etc.), and for this usage, the two are interchangeable.

Structure

Result complements are a huge topic in Chinese grammar, but you can approach them in stages. The structure you come across the most is a verb with 到 (dào):

Subject + Verb + 到 + Object

What 到 does is indicate that the outcome of the verb is achieved - what its result is. Without a result complement, the sentence would describe only the action itself. To illustrate, 看 "to look" is the action of turning one's head in a particular direction and focusing one's eyes, whereas 看到," to see," is the result of your brain taking in the visual input.

The complement 见 is very similar to 到, and it is used in the same way:

Subject + Verb + 见 + Object

However, there is a difference. 见 is generally only used after verbs involving sense, like 听 and 看, whereas 到 can be attached to a large variety of verbs (which we will discuss at a higher level on another page).

Examples

  • 你 听 了 吗?Did you hear it?
  • 你 看 那 个 帅哥 了 吗?Did you see that handsome boy?
  • 我 买 了 一 些 龙虾。I bought some lobsters.
  • 想 到 你 那么 迷信! I didn't think you were so suspicious!
  • 小 时候 没 学过 乐器, 我 感到 很 遗憾。When I was younger, I didn't learn how to play an instrument. Now I regret it.
  • 我一走进家门,就闻 到了 美味的 鸡汤! I could smell the delicious chicken soup as I walked into home.


As in the last sentence, this structure can be negated using 没.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books