Result complements — the second half of the verb
Chinese attaches a second syllable to a verb to say how it turned out: 做完 (finished doing), 听见 (heard), 找到 (found), 看懂 (understood by reading). The verb alone only names the attempt; the complement reports the outcome.
Structure
-
Verb + result complement (+ 了)
做完了, 听见了, 找到了.
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没 + Verb + complement
没找到 — didn't manage to find.
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Verb + 得/不 + complement
听得懂 / 听不懂 — able / unable to.
How it works
In English a single verb usually implies its own success: "I found it." Chinese splits the attempt from the outcome. 找 is to look for; 找到 is to find. 听 is to listen; 听见 is to hear. Leaving the complement off is why a learner's Chinese can sound oddly unfinished.
The common complements: 完 (finished), 好 (done properly, ready), 到 (attained, reached), 见 (perceived), 懂 (understood), 会 (mastered), 错 (wrongly), 住 (held fast: 记住 to memorise), 开 (open, apart), 光 (all gone).
Negate with 没, and drop the 了: 我没找到。 (I didn't find it.) Using 不 here changes the meaning to a refusal or a general truth.
Slot 得 or 不 between the two halves and you get the potential form — whether the result is achievable at all: 听得懂 (can understand it), 听不懂 (can't). This is everyday, high-frequency Chinese: 看不见, 买不到, 吃不完.
Result complements are also what makes a 把 sentence legal — they are the outcome the construction demands.
Examples
Quick drill — 5 questions
Five fill-in-the-gap questions built from the example sentences above. No sign-up, no score kept — just a check that the pattern has actually landed.
Choose the word that belongs in the gap:
Common mistakes
| ✗ Wrong | ✓ Right | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 我找了我的钥匙。 | 我找到了我的钥匙。 | 找了 says you searched; only 找到 says you succeeded. |
| 我没做完了。 | 我没做完。 | 没 deletes 了, exactly as it does with any completed action. |
| 我不懂你说的话。 | 我听不懂你说的话。 | The potential form names the channel — understanding by ear is 听不懂, by reading 看不懂. |
Result complements — 完, 好, 到, 见 — frequently asked questions
What is a result complement in Chinese?
A syllable attached to a verb that reports the outcome of the action: 做完 (finished doing), 找到 (found), 听见 (heard), 看懂 (understood by reading). The bare verb names only the attempt — 我找 means "I look for", not "I find".
How do you negate a result complement?
With 没, and the 了 disappears: 我没找到 (I didn't find it), 我没做完 (I didn't finish). Using 不 instead changes the meaning to a refusal or a general statement.
What is the difference between 听不懂 and 不懂?
听不懂 says you cannot understand it by ear — the standard thing to say when someone speaks too fast. 不懂 is a flat "I don't understand" with no channel specified. For reading, the equivalent is 看不懂.
What are the most useful result complements?
完 (finished), 好 (done properly), 到 (attained), 见 (perceived), 懂 (understood), 会 (mastered), 错 (wrongly), 住 (held fast, as in 记住), 开 (open/apart) and 光 (all gone). These ten cover most everyday use.
Next, learn
Put it to work
Drill the vocabulary for this level on the HSK 3 word list, rebuild scrambled sentences in the Sentence Builder, read graded stories that use this pattern in the story library, or follow a step-by-step route through the whole site in Guided Learning Paths.