得 (de) is one of those common Chinese characters that cause confusion for Mandarin learners...
Not only does it have multiple usages - each usage has its own pronunciation.
In this quick video we clear up the confusion to help you use 得 more accurately!
A summary of 得 (de, dé, děi)
#1: “de 得” with a neutral tone.
When the character “得” is used as a structural particle, it’s pronounced with a neutral tone.
Add 得 between a verb and an adjective to describe how the verb is carried out.
Structure: Verb + de 得 + Adjective
Examples:
pǎo
跑
runs
pǎo dé kuài
跑得快
runs fast
pá
爬
crawls
pá dé màn
爬得慢
crawls slowly
tù zi pǎo dé kuài， wū guī pá dé màn.
兔子跑得快，乌龟爬得慢。
The hare runs fast and the tortoise crawls slowly.
#2: “dé 得” with a second tone.
The second way to pronounce this character is “dé” with a second tone. It's pronounced this way when it means "to obtain / to get / to gain".
Here are some common phrases with “dé 得”:
dé bìng
得病
to get a disease
Examples:
wǒ dé bìng le.
我得病了。
I got sick.
tā dé pí fū bìng le.
他得皮肤病了。
He got a skin disease.
áo yè róng yì dé bìng.
熬夜容易得病。
When you stay up late you're more likely to get sick.
dé dào
得到
to get / to obtain / to receive
Example:
suǒ yǒu de xīn kǔ dōu dé dào le bào cháng.
所有的辛苦都得到了报偿。
All the hard work got paid off.
dé fēn
得分
to score
Example:
yáo míng zài zhè chǎng lán qiú sài dé fēn zuì duō.
姚明在这场篮球赛得分最多。
Yao Ming scored the most points in this basketball game.
dé jiǎng
得奖
to win a prize
Example:
yáo míng zài zhè chǎng lán qiú sài dé fēn zuì duō.
谁猜中这个谜语就能得奖。
Whoever guesses the riddle wins a prize.
dé zhī
得知
to find out / to learn of
Example:
tā dé zhī yé ye qù shì de xiāo xī， fēi cháng shāng xīn.
他得知爷爷去世的消息，非常伤心。
He was very sad to learn of his grandfather's death.
huò dé
获得
to obtain / to receive / to get
他获得了冠军，激动得流下眼泪。
tā huò dé le guān jūn， jī dòng dé liú xià yǎn lèi.
Example:
When he won the championship, he was moved to tears.
nán dé
难得
hard to get / rare
Example:
wǒ men nán dé jiàn miàn， nǐ duō dāi yī huì ér ba.
我们难得见面，你多呆一会儿吧。
It's rare for us to see each other, so please stay a little longer.
yíng dé
赢得
to win / to gain
Example:
zhǐ yào wǒ men zuò hǎo chōng fēn de zhǔn bèi， jiù yī dìng néng yíng dé bǐ sài.
只要我们做好充分的准备，就一定能赢得比赛。
As long as we are well prepared, we can definitely win the game.
#3: “děi 得” with a third tone.
When the meaning of the character (得) is "must / have to / ought to / need to", it's pronounced "děi".
Examples:
wǒ děi zǒu le.
我得走了。
I have to go.
tā děi shí diǎn qián huí jiā.
她得十点前回家。
She has to be home before ten o'clock.
wǒ děi gōng zuò le， wǒ men gǎi tiān zài liáo ba.
我得工作了，我们改天再聊吧。
I have to work, let's talk another day.
yǐ jīng jiǔ diǎn le， nǐ děi qǐ chuáng le.
已经九点了，你得起床了。
It's nine o'clock, you have to get up.
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