A result complement suffix is where a complement character or characters is added after a verb to communicate the outcome or result. In English this is the equivalent of the difference between “listen” and “hear” or “look” and “see”. It’s important to understand that in Chinese many verbs don’t include the result, so th completement character or characters are added to communicate this.
The typical patter for a result complement is:
result complement = verb + complement
Where A complement is either a verb or adjective.
Here are some examples:
Verb | Verb + Complement |
---|---|
look |
see |
listen |
hear |
listen |
understand |
listen |
mishear |
to do |
to complete |
pull |
pull open |
to shut |
to close |
to wipe |
to wipe clean |
Typically the complement is single character such as “arrive”
Here is a list of common adjective complements:
Adjective Complement | Example |
---|---|
“mistake” |
“to make a mistake” |
“dirty” |
“to make diry” |
“clear” |
“hear clearly” |
“well” |
“prepared” |
“clean” |
“wip clean” |
This is a list of common verb complements:
Verb Complement | Example |
---|---|
“understand” |
“understand” |
“stop” |
“hold firmly” |
“open” |
“打开” |
“reduce”, “fall” |
”wipe off” |
“broken” |
“to break” |
“fall” |
“fall down” |
“drop”, “shed” |
“sell off” |
“complete” |
“to complete” |
“awaken” |
“to wake up” |