How to use the three ‘De’s in Chinese: 的, 地 & 得

The three Chinese particles sound alike, so listening alone cannot tell you which character to write. The useful question is what the phrase is describing: a person or thing, the manner of an action, or the quality or degree of an action or state. This guide shows how to choose 的 de, 地 de, and 得 de through patterns, matching examples, and practice with answers.

The relationship-chain examples and noun-modifier explanation for 的 de adapt teaching notes supplied by the GoEast Research Team. They accompany the original GoEast explanations of 地 de and 得 de.

What is the difference between the three de in Chinese?

的 de builds a noun phrase, 地 de connects a manner description to an action that follows, and 得 de links a verb or adjective to information about its performance, degree, or resulting state. The character marks a grammatical relationship; it does not have one English translation that fits every sentence.

A “complement” is simply the part after 得 de that gives more information about the action or state. For example, in 说得很好 shuō de hěn hǎo (“speak very well”), the words meaning “very well” evaluate the speaking.

How does GoEast’s noun-modifier approach help you choose de?

The GoEast Research Team presents 的 de as a connector between a description and a noun. Start by finding the person or thing you want to identify. The description may be an owner, an adjective, or an entire action phrase; its length does not change the basic job of 的 de.

Consider a relationship chain adapted from the team’s notes:

我姐姐的朋友的同学
Wǒ jiějie de péngyou de tóngxué
my older sister’s friend’s classmate

The final noun is 同学 tóngxué (“classmate”). The words before it identify whose classmate: the classmate of your sister’s friend. Within that description, another 的 de connects 我姐姐 wǒ jiějie (“my older sister”) with 朋友 péngyou (“friend”). This is a relationship chain, not ownership of people.

1. Find the target: are you describing a person or thing? In the basic noun-modifier pattern, choose 的 de.
2. If the target is an action, check where the description belongs: a manner phrase before the verb often uses 地 de.
3. If you are adding information after the verb or adjective about its quality or degree, consider 得 de.

How do you use 的 de to describe a noun?

The core pattern is modifier + 的 de + noun. The modifier can express possession, a relationship, a description, or an action that identifies the noun.

Possession and relationships

• 这是我的手机。 Zhè shì wǒ de shǒujī. — This is my phone.
• 老师的问题很难。 Lǎoshī de wèntí hěn nán. — The teacher’s question is difficult.
• 她是我姐姐的朋友。 Tā shì wǒ jiějie de péngyou. — She is my older sister’s friend.

的 de sits between the possessor or associated person and the noun. It can resemble English “’s,” but its function is broader: a teacher’s question and a sister’s friend express relationships, not necessarily ownership.

Adjectives, materials, and other descriptions

• 一件漂亮的衣服 yí jiàn piàoliang de yīfu — a beautiful item of clothing
• 秋天的天气 qiūtiān de tiānqì — the weather in autumn
• 玻璃的杯子 bōli de bēizi — a cup made of glass

In each phrase, the part before 的 de tells you something about the noun after it. The material example means “a glass cup,” rather than simply “glass” as a substance.

A whole action phrase before a noun

Chinese places a relative clause before the noun it describes. English often places it after the noun and introduces it with “that” or “who.”

• 我昨天买的书 wǒ zuótiān mǎi de shū — the book I bought yesterday
• 妈妈做的菜 māma zuò de cài — the food Mom made
• 教中文的老师 jiāo Zhōngwén de lǎoshī — the teacher who teaches Chinese

In the last example, 教 jiāo (“teach”) belongs to the description of the teacher. It does not require 得 de just because it is a verb. The phrase as a whole identifies a noun, so 的 de is the right connector.

What if the noun is left out?

When context makes the person or thing clear, a phrase ending in 的 de can stand on its own.

这本书是我的。
Zhè běn shū shì wǒ de.
This book is mine.

The word “book” does not need to be repeated after 我的 wǒ de (“mine”). This is why “的 de must always have a written noun immediately after it” is an incomplete rule. Similarly, 这个杯子是玻璃的。 Zhège bēizi shì bōli de. means “This cup is made of glass.”

How do you use 地 de before an action?

Use manner phrase + 地 de + verb when a description comes before an action and tells the reader how it is performed. In English, the corresponding word may end in “-ly,” as in “carefully,” but an English spelling shortcut is not a Chinese grammar rule.

• 她认真地读这本书。 Tā rènzhēn de dú zhè běn shū. — She reads this book attentively.
• 他轻轻地关上门。 Tā qīngqīng de guān shàng mén. — He closes the door gently.
• 我们慢慢地走回家。 Wǒmen mànmàn de zǒu huí jiā. — We walk home slowly.

Here, 认真 rènzhēn (“attentive”), 轻轻 qīngqīng (“gently”), and 慢慢 mànmàn (“slowly”) describe actions. 地 de connects each manner description to its following verb.

Not every word before a verb needs 地 de. Time words and ordinary adverbs can occur there without it: 我每天学习。 Wǒ měitiān xuéxí. means “I study every day,” and 他已经来了。 Tā yǐjīng lái le. means “He has already arrived.” Neither sentence calls for adding 地 de after “every day” or “already.”

How do you use 得 de after a verb or adjective?

Use verb or adjective + 得 de + complement to add information about performance, degree, or a resulting state. 得 de comes directly after the verb or adjective being evaluated.

Evaluate an action

• 你来得很早。 Nǐ lái de hěn zǎo. — You arrive very early.
• 她唱得很好。 Tā chàng de hěn hǎo. — She sings very well.
• 他说得不清楚。 Tā shuō de bù qīngchu. — He does not speak clearly.

For a negative evaluation, put the negative inside the complement. 说得不好 shuō de bù hǎo means “speak poorly”; it still describes speaking, rather than saying the person does not speak at all.

What if the verb has an object?

In this descriptive 得 de pattern, do not simply place the object between the evaluated verb and 得. Two useful solutions are to repeat the verb after its object, or to put the object or topic before the evaluated verb.

The first version is especially useful when learning the structure: say the action and its object, then repeat the action to evaluate it. This is a pattern for descriptive complements, not a claim that every use of 得 de requires verb repetition.

Express an intense degree or resulting state

The complement can be a whole phrase, not just an adjective.

• 我累得不想说话。 Wǒ lèi de bù xiǎng shuōhuà. — I’m so tired that I don’t want to talk.
• 她哭得眼睛都红了。 Tā kū de yǎnjing dōu hóng le. — She cried so much that her eyes became red.

In the first sentence, 得 de follows the adjective 累 lèi (“tired”). In the second, the following phrase begins with 眼睛 yǎnjing (“eyes”), a noun. That noun is part of the resulting-state description; its presence does not make 的 de the correct character.

How do 的 de, 地 de, and 得 de change the same description?

The same descriptive word can appear with different de particles because it attaches to a different target or occupies a different grammatical position. Compare 认真 rènzhēn in these examples.

地 de and 得 de can produce similar English translations. The distinction is partly how the sentence is organized: the former introduces manner before an action, while the latter adds a complement after it. 得 de is not a past-tense marker, and using it does not by itself mean the action has finished.

When can you leave 的 de or 地 de out?

Some familiar phrases naturally omit a particle, but omission depends on the construction and context. Learn common patterns rather than applying “always include de” or “always delete de.”

Omitting 的 de in familiar noun phrases

• 我妈妈 wǒ māma — my mother: a close relationship
• 我家 wǒ jiā — my home: a close association
• 我们公司 wǒmen gōngsī — our company: an organizational association
• 新书 xīn shū — a new book: a compact adjective–noun phrase

Keep 的 de in clear, expanded descriptions such as 很有意思的书 hěn yǒu yìsi de shū (“a very interesting book”) and 我昨天买的书 wǒ zuótiān mǎi de shū (“the book I bought yesterday”). For straightforward possession of an object, 我的书 wǒ de shū and 我的猫 wǒ de māo are useful default forms.

Omitting 地 de in some manner phrases

Both 慢慢走 mànmàn zǒu and 慢慢地走 mànmàn de zǒu can mean “walk slowly.” 地 de makes the manner connection explicit, but it can be left out in this familiar pattern.

Do not apply that omission to every sentence with 得 de. If your meaning is “she sings very well,” the descriptive pattern is 她唱得很好。 Tā chàng de hěn hǎo. Removing 得 changes the construction.

Are all three de pronounced the same way?

As structural particles in standard Mandarin, 的 de, 地 de, and 得 de have a neutral-tone reading. Write their pinyin as de, without a tone mark. The other words around them still carry their usual marked or neutral tones.

This neutral-tone classification is also listed in the Education University of Hong Kong’s Mandarin pronunciation materials. A missing accent on de is intentional, not a missing pinyin annotation.

There is another neutral-tone 得 de in potential complements, such as 看得懂 kàn de dǒng (“can understand by reading”). It still follows a verb, but it expresses possibility rather than simply evaluating how well an action is performed.

What mistakes should you watch for? Try these de exercises

Watch for missing 的 de after a noun-modifying clause, writing 的 instead of 地 in a manner phrase, and putting 得 after an object instead of directly after the evaluated verb. Complete these sentences with 的 de, 地 de, or 得 de.

1. 这本书是我姐姐___。 Zhè běn shū shì wǒ jiějie ___. — This book is my older sister’s.
2. 她认真___读这本书。 Tā rènzhēn ___ dú zhè běn shū. — She reads this book attentively.
3. 她读___很认真。 Tā dú ___ hěn rènzhēn. — She reads very attentively.
4. 我喜欢妈妈做___菜。 Wǒ xǐhuan māma zuò ___ cài. — I like the food Mom makes.
5. 他说中文说___很流利。 Tā shuō Zhōngwén shuō ___ hěn liúlì. — He speaks Chinese very fluently.
6. 我累___不想说话。 Wǒ lèi ___ bù xiǎng shuōhuà. — I’m so tired that I don’t want to talk.
7. 她哭___眼睛都红了。 Tā kū ___ yǎnjing dōu hóng le. — She cried so much that her eyes became red.

Answers with explanations

1. 的 de: the sentence identifies whose book it is; the already-known noun is not repeated after the possessive phrase.
2. 地 de: the description of manner appears before the verb. The particle is the correct one when you include it in this pattern.
3. 得 de: the evaluation comes after the verb “read.”
4. 的 de: “Mom makes” is a clause identifying the food, even though that clause contains a verb.
5. 得 de: the repeated verb introduces the evaluation after the object “Chinese.”
6. 得 de: the phrase after it explains the degree of tiredness.
7. 得 de: “her eyes became red” is a resulting-state complement, despite beginning with a noun.

For one more correction, 她说中文得很好。 Tā shuō Zhōngwén de hěn hǎo. does not follow the descriptive-complement pattern. Revise it to 她说中文说得很好。 Tā shuō Zhōngwén shuō de hěn hǎo. or 她中文说得很好。 Tā Zhōngwén shuō de hěn hǎo. — She speaks Chinese very well.

Where can you watch the GoEast explanation and learn more?

Watch GoEast’s short video on 的 de, 得 de, and 地 de, then practice choosing the written character with the examples and exercises above.

For a broader learning path, explore our Chinese grammar guide. When you are comfortable with noun-modifying clauses, continue to 所 suǒ in the 所 + verb + 的 de + noun pattern; for another change in how a sentence is organized around its object, see how to use 把 bǎ.

Frequently asked questions