What's the difference between "的", ”得" and "地"?

Start a Thread Start a Poll

What's the difference between "的", ”得" and "地"?
Jun 2, 2008 04:15
guestbaron	Help! Anyone here can explain the difference between these three words, "的", ”得" and "地"? When using these three words to make sentences, I usually make mistakes. Someone once told me that 得 is a polyphone. How many ways do we pronounce it?

Jun 2, 2008 13:49	#1
GRIZ326 Points: Join Date: Jun 12, 2006 Status: Offline	I don't know if this will help, but: 的 - Wenlin provides no definition for this character calling it a grammatical particle 得 - Get, reach, achieve and is "grammatical" 地 - Wenlin says this means earth but also suggests that it is an adverbial particle Clear as mud! Correct? Perhaps the pros here can shed brighter light on your question.

Jun 6, 2008 22:37

LEMONCACTUS
Points:
Join Date: Dec 8, 2005
Status: Offline

Hi Guestbaron,

Here's a very SIMPLE rundown of the BASIC usages:

的 It is VERY commonly used in Chinese.

1) this is a particle used to denote ownership, for example in English "my"
EG: 我的书 (my book), 你的朋友(your friend),这本书是谁的？(Whose book is this?)

2) it is used to modify a noun with an adjective
EG: 新的书 (new book), 最好的朋友 (best friend)

得 can be a verb, pronounced dei, which means "to have to/must"
EG: 我得去 (I must go)

得, with the same pronunciation as 的 is a particle that connects a verb with a "complement" (usually an adj), sorry I don't know the exact terms.
EG: 我起得早 (I get up early: 起 the verb "to get up", 早 is the adj "early")
EG: 我汉语说得好 (I speak Chinese well, 说 verb "to speak" 好 adj "good/well")

地 can be a noun, meaning "earth"/"place" and pronounced di
EG: 地方(place), 地球 (Earth, planet)

地 as a particle is the same pronunciation as 的 and 得 (confusingly enough... it doesn't matter when you're speaking, but if you're writing you need to know the difference). It is used before a verb, to modify the verb with an adjective and makes the adj become an adv (in English)
EG: 我高兴地说 (I said happily 高兴 adj "happy", 说 verb "to speak")
EG: 我小声地问（i asked quietly 笑声 adj "quiet" 问 verb "to ask")

I hope this makes a bit of sense.

There's a general rule that can be applied to 的，地，得 as particles, that helps when you first start learning:

的 + NOUN
地 + VERB
得 + ADJECTIVE

It's about 90% accurate!

Oct 13, 2014 15:07	#3
GUEST11796	地=verb 得:adjective 的：noun

Mar 12, 2016 11:52	#4
GUEST46142	Generally, 的 is always placed before nouns, 地 before verbs & adjectives, 得 after verbs.

Apr 26, 2016 01:38	#5
AMYXUHM Points: Join Date: Apr 15, 2016 Status: Offline	The differences between 的, 得 and 地 in Chinese are like their, they’re and there.

Jun 3, 2019 18:39	#6
GUESTPATRICK...	I'm Chinese & I hope my answer is not too late. You can learn by this: adj. + 的 + noun. (e.g. 红色的苹果 a red apple) verb + 得 + adverb. (e.g. 跑得很快 run fast) adv. + 地 + verb. (e.g. 认真地写 write carefully)

Mar 24, 2020 07:06	#7
GUEST????	As a Chinese, I don't understand the answer to this question

Mar 22, 2021 04:54	#8
CHINAEURO Points: Join Date: Mar 22, 2021 Status: Offline	well, reading the answers made it more confusing... but i kinda got it

Post a Reply to: What's the difference between "的", ”得" and "地"?