Potential Complements in Chinese

In Brief

Chinese potential complements say whether an action can reach a particular result. Put 得 between the verb and its complement for a possible result, and 不 there for an impossible result: 看得见 “can see,” 看不见 “cannot see,” 听得懂 “can understand,” and 听不懂 “cannot understand.” The pattern is about achieving a result, not permission or learned skill in general.

Overview

A complement is an element after a verb that completes its meaning by showing a result, direction, degree, or another outcome. For example, 见 in 看见 tells us that looking resulted in seeing, while 完 in 吃完 tells us that eating was completed. A potential complement, called 可能补语 (kěnéng bǔyǔ) in Chinese, turns that result into a question of practical possibility: is the result achievable under the circumstances?

This is a core B1 pattern and builds directly on result complements. Once you know 听懂 “listen and understand,” 找到 “find successfully,” and 写出来 “write out,” you can form 听不懂, 找得到, and 写得出来. These compact forms are extremely common in everyday speech, especially the negative ones.

English uses “can” for several different meanings. Chinese usually distinguishes them. 会 often concerns a learned skill, 可以 commonly concerns permission or an acceptable option, and 能 expresses broader ability or possibility. A potential complement focuses more narrowly on whether a specific result can be reached: 我看不见黑板 means that seeing the board is not possible, perhaps because it is too far away or blocked.

How It Works

The basic pattern

Meaning	Structure	Example	English
Achievable result	verb + 得 + complement	听得懂	can understand what one hears
Unachievable result	verb + 不 + complement	听不懂	cannot understand what one hears
Question with 吗	potential form + 吗？	听得懂吗？	Can you understand it?
Affirmative-negative question	affirmative + negative?	听得懂听不懂？	Can you understand it or not?

Here 得 is pronounced de with a neutral tone. It is a grammatical marker rather than a verb meaning “obtain.” 不 occupies the same slot in the negative form. Do not add 不 before the entire affirmative form: the natural pair is 看得见 / 看不见, not 不看得见.

From an actual result to a possible result

Start with a verb-complement compound that names an outcome. Split the verb and complement, then insert 得 or 不.

Result compound	Achievable	Unachievable	Core idea
看见	看得见	看不见	succeed or fail in seeing
听懂	听得懂	听不懂	succeed or fail in understanding by listening
吃完	吃得完	吃不完	be able or unable to finish eating
找到	找得到	找不到	be able or unable to find
记住	记得住	记不住	be able or unable to retain in memory
拿动	拿得动	拿不动	be able or unable to move or lift

The three forms differ in time and viewpoint:

• 我看见了。 — I saw it. The result actually occurred.
• 我看得见。 — I can see it. The result is possible.
• 我看不见。 — I cannot see it. The result is not possible.

A potential complement does not itself claim that the action happened. It evaluates the possibility of reaching the outcome.

With directional complements

Potential forms also work with directional complements—elements such as 来, 去, 上, 下, 进, 出, 回, and 过 that show movement or a figurative direction.

Directional compound	Potential pair	Typical meaning
进去	进得去 / 进不去	can/cannot get in
出来	出得来 / 出不来	can/cannot come out; can/cannot produce or recall
上去	上得去 / 上不去	can/cannot get up there
回来	回得来 / 回不来	can/cannot come back
过去	过得去 / 过不去	can/cannot get across or get past

In a compound such as 写出来, the potential marker goes directly after the main verb: 写得出来 / 写不出来. It does not go between the directional elements: not 写出得来.

Directional meaning is often figurative. 想不起来 means “cannot recall,” literally failing to bring a thought back up; 说不出来 means that someone cannot put something into words.

Where the object goes

A short object can follow the complete potential form:

• 我听不懂中文。 — I cannot understand Chinese.
• 你吃得完这碗面吗？ — Can you finish this bowl of noodles?
• 他搬不动这个箱子。 — He cannot move this box.

With a definite, long, or already known object, Chinese often places it first as the topic (what the sentence is about):

• 这本书，我今天看不完。 — I cannot finish this book today.
• 这么小的字，我看不清楚。 — I cannot see writing this small clearly.
• 这个问题，你回答得出来吗？ — Can you answer this question?

Topic-first order is especially useful because the verb and complement remain together as one tight unit.

Questions and answers

A 吗 question is straightforward:

• 你听得懂吗？ — Can you understand?
• 这个箱子搬得动吗？ — Can this box be moved?

An affirmative-negative question repeats the potential pair:

• 你听得懂听不懂？ — Can you understand or not?
• 今天做得完做不完？ — Can it be finished today or not?

Short answers normally repeat the relevant form: 听得懂 or 听不懂, 做得完 or 做不完. A bare 能 / 不能 is possible when the context already makes the intended result clear, but repeating the complement gives a more exact answer.

Potential complements versus 能, 会, and 可以

These forms overlap, but they are not interchangeable in every situation.

Form	Usual focus	Example	Meaning
会	learned skill or knowledge	我会游泳。	I know how to swim.
可以	permission or acceptable option	我可以进去吗？	May I go in?
能	general ability or circumstances	明天我能来。	I can come tomorrow.
potential complement	ability to achieve a result	门锁了，我进不去。	The door is locked; I cannot get in.

Compare 我不会写这个字 and 我写不出来这个字. The first usually means “I do not know how to write this character.” The second presents producing the written character as the result that cannot be achieved—perhaps the speaker has forgotten it at that moment. Context can blur the boundary, but this contrast is a useful starting point.

Examples in Context

Chinese	English	Note
我看得见。	I can see it.	见 is the successful result of looking.
他听不懂中文。	He cannot understand Chinese.	The object follows the potential form.
这么多菜，你吃得完吗？	Can you finish all this food?	A 吗 question about completion.
这个字写得出来吗？	Can you write this character?	出来 presents the character as something produced.
音乐太响了，我听不清楚你说什么。	The music is too loud; I cannot hear clearly what you are saying.	The reason makes the practical obstacle clear.
这本书我今天看不完。	I cannot finish this book today.	The book is placed first as the topic.
票已经卖完了，我们买不到了。	The tickets have sold out, so we cannot get any now.	到 marks successful acquisition.
箱子太重，我一个人搬不动。	The box is too heavy; I cannot move it by myself.	动 expresses successful movement.
你离得那么远，看得清黑板上的字吗？	You are so far away—can you see the writing on the board clearly?	清 concerns clarity.
密码太长，我记不住。	The password is too long; I cannot remember it.	住 suggests keeping something fixed in memory.
门锁上了，我们进不去。	The door is locked; we cannot get in.	Directional potential complement.
她想说什么，可是说不出来。	She wanted to say something, but could not put it into words.	Figurative use of 出来.
你明天回得来吗？	Will you be able to come back tomorrow?	Future possibility; no future tense ending is needed.
这个问题不难，你答得出来。	This question is not difficult; you can answer it.	An affirmative potential form used for reassurance.

Common Mistakes

Putting 不 before 得

• Wrong: 我不看得见。
• Right: 我看不见。
• Why: 得 and 不 are alternatives in the same slot. Replace 得 with 不 to make the potential form negative.

Keeping the result compound intact

• Wrong: 我看见不得。
• Right: 我看不见。
• Why: Insert 得 or 不 between the main verb 看 and the result 见. Note that 不得 occurs in other constructions, often with meanings such as “must not,” but it is not the regular negative pair of 看得见.

Using a potential complement for permission

• Wrong: 我进得去吗？ when asking whether you are allowed to enter.
• Right: 我可以进去吗？
• Why: 进得去吗？ asks whether entry is practically possible—for example, whether the door or route permits it. 可以进去吗？ normally asks permission.

Confusing a completed result with possibility

• Wrong: 我昨天看得见他了。 when the intended meaning is “I saw him yesterday.”
• Right: 我昨天看见他了。
• Why: 看得见 evaluates whether seeing is possible; 看见了 reports that seeing actually happened.

Separating a long object awkwardly inside the pattern

• Awkward: 我看这本三百页的书不完。
• Natural: 这本三百页的书，我看不完。
• Why: Keep 看不完 together. Put a long or definite object before it as the topic.

Treating every 得 complement as potential

• Mistaken reading: 他跑得很快 = “He can run very fast.”
• Usual reading: 他跑得很快。 = “He runs very fast.”
• Why: 得 also introduces a degree or descriptive complement. Context and the type of material after 得 matter; not every verb + 得 phrase expresses potentiality.

Usage Notes

Negative potential complements are particularly frequent and often sound more direct and idiomatic than a longer phrase with 不能: 我听不懂 naturally identifies understanding as the failed result. The affirmative is fully grammatical, but speakers may use 能 + result compound in some contexts: 在这里能看见山 “You can see the mountains from here.” Choice depends on what is being emphasized and on established usage, so do not force every English “can” into one structure.

The obstacle can be physical, situational, or mental. 拿不动 may result from weight, 买不到 from lack of stock, 来不及 from lack of time, and 想不起来 from a temporary memory failure. The sentence often states the obstacle with 太…, 没有…, or another explanation, but it does not have to.

Potential complements normally describe a possibility rather than a completed event, so aspect markers such as verb-suffix 了 do not go inside the potential unit. A sentence-final 了 may still occur to mark a new situation: 现在看不见了 means “Now I can’t see it anymore.” Here 了 applies to the change in the whole situation, not to a completed act of seeing.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

Productive patterns and lexicalized expressions

Many forms are transparently built from ordinary result or directional complements, but some are so frequent that they behave almost like fixed vocabulary:

• 受得了 / 受不了 — can/cannot bear it
• 来得及 / 来不及 — be in time / be too late
• 靠得住 / 靠不住 — reliable / unreliable
• 过得去 / 过不去 — passable / unable to get past; also acceptable / unable to move past something emotionally
• 不得了 — extremely serious or extraordinary; a lexicalized expression, not simply “unable to finish 得了”

Learn these in complete phrases and contexts. Their modern meanings are not always predictable by translating each character separately.

得 may be structurally ambiguous

Chinese uses 得 for both potential complements and degree complements. Compare:

• 他跑得快。 — He runs fast; usually a description of performance.
• 他跑不快。 — He cannot run fast / does not run fast.
• 这么远，他跑得到。 — It is that far away, but he can reach it by running.

The affirmative potential reading with a simple adjective such as 快 can overlap with a descriptive reading. Context, contrast with a negative form, and the nature of the complement help listeners decide. With clear result complements such as 懂, 完, and 到, the potential interpretation is much easier to identify.

Potential meaning in 把 and 被 sentences

Because potential complements evaluate an uncertain result, they do not always fit naturally into constructions that present an object as decisively disposed of, especially a typical 把 sentence. In everyday Chinese, topic-first order is often the safest and most natural choice:

• 这些工作，我今天做不完。 — I cannot finish this work today.

Rather than memorizing an absolute ban, notice the difference in viewpoint: 把 commonly highlights what happens to a specific object, while a potential complement says that the result may not be achievable. Advanced contexts can combine these meanings, but learners should first master the clear topic-comment pattern.

Polite and indirect effects

A negative potential form can soften a refusal by presenting it as a practical limitation rather than a personal choice: 我今天可能来不了 means “I may not be able to come today.” The common form V不了 is related to potential meaning and is especially frequent with verbs such as 去不了, 吃不了, and 忘不了. Depending on the verb and context, it can mean inability, impossibility, or that something cannot be borne or completed. Treat it as an important extension after the basic V + 得/不 + complement contrast is secure.

Practice Tips

1. Build three-part families. Start with ten result compounds and say the actual, possible, and impossible forms aloud: 听懂 → 听得懂 → 听不懂, 做完 → 做得完 → 做不完. This trains the correct position of 得/不.
2. Name a real obstacle. Make sentences from daily life: 字太小，我看不清楚 or 东西太多，我拿不动. Linking the form to a reason makes the idea of achievable result memorable.
3. Contrast different kinds of “can.” For each English sentence with “can,” decide whether it means learned skill (会), permission (可以), broad ability (能), or successful result (a potential complement). Then check whether your Chinese sentence says exactly what you intend.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Result Complements — learn how forms such as 看见, 听懂, and 做完 express an actual result before turning that result into a possibility.