Resultative Complements

By the end of this lesson, you will attach result complements to verbs to specify outcomes, use them in negative and question forms, and recognize the most common complement+verb pairings.

What Resultative Complements Do

In Mandarin, a verb alone doesn't tell you whether its action succeeded. Instead, a resultative complement (结果补语 jiéguǒ bǔyǔ) — a second morpheme attached immediately after the verb — specifies the result:

写 = to write 写完 = to finish writing (complete + write) 写错 = to write incorrectly

This is different from English, where verbs like "finish," "understand," and "find" are separate words. In Mandarin, the result is fused onto the verb itself.

Structure

Verb + Result Complement (+ Object)

Verb + Complement	Pinyin	Meaning
写完	xiě wán	finish writing
听懂	tīng dǒng	understand (by listening)
说错	shuō cuò	say (something) wrong
找到	zhǎo dào	find / manage to find
做好	zuò hǎo	do (something) well
看见	kàn jiàn	see / catch sight of
学会	xué huì	learn (and master)
买到	mǎi dào	manage to buy / find and buy
吃完	chī wán	finish eating
记住	jì zhù	memorize / remember

The Most Common Result Morphemes

Morpheme	Pinyin	Result it Expresses	Example
完	wán	completion, finished	做完 (finish doing)
懂	dǒng	understanding	听懂 (understand by hearing)
到	dào	reaching a goal, finding	找到 (find), 买到 (manage to buy)
好	hǎo	well, satisfactorily	写好 (write well)
错	cuò