# The 得 Complement: 110 Instance in the Bible

> 得 as a complement particle — the HSK 2 pattern verb + 得 + description — occurs 110 time in the Chinese Union Version (和合本, simplified), against 1,040 occurrences of 得 as the verb dé, to obtain.

**Pattern:** verb + 得 + description
**HSK level:** 2 — the highest HSK level of the point's own function words, as data/dict.json grades them; a word the HSK lists do not grade sends the point to 'beyond'
**Rule used to find it:** 得 read de — the particle reading, as against the verb dé 'to obtain'. The reading is the whole rule.
**Confidence:** counted — 30 of 110 matches checked, 93% correct, by Claude Opus 5, reading each sampled clause in context; not a native speaker

说得好, speaks well. 跑得快, runs fast. The 得 complement is how modern Chinese says how an action turns out, and it is drilled early because English speakers keep reaching for an adverb instead. In the Chinese Bible it is essentially absent.

The Chinese Union Version (和合本, simplified) uses 得 1,040 times. 930 of those occurrences are the same words doing something else.

The reading is what separates the two, and the segmenter does separate them here: 得 is read dé — to obtain, to gain, to be able to — nearly everywhere, and that verb is one of the commonest in the whole translation. 得救, to be saved; 得着, to obtain; 得见, to get to see. The particle reading survives in a handful of places, and every one of them was read.

The 110 confirmed instance is shown below with its verse, out of 110 clauses the rule found and 1,040 occurrences of 得 in the book. Where a modern text would use 得, this translation reaches for a resultative compound instead — the result is welded onto the verb rather than introduced after it.

## Examples

- **Revelation 6:17** — 因为他们忿怒的大日到了，谁能站得住呢？」
  - yīn wèi tā men fèn nù de dà rì dào le ， shuí néng zhàn de zhù ne ？」
  - for the great day of his wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”
  - construction: 得
- **Exodus 10:29** — 摩西说：「你说得好！我必不再见你的面了。」
  - mó xī shuō ：「 nǐ shuō de hǎo ！ wǒ bì bú zài jiàn nǐ de miàn le 。」
  - Moses said, “You have spoken well. I will see your face again no more.”
  - construction: 得
- **Deuteronomy 9:2** — 那民是亚衲族的人，又大又高，是你所知道的；也曾听见有人指着他们说：『谁能在亚衲族人面前站立得住呢？』
  - nà mín shì yà nà zú de rén ， yòu dà yòu gāo ， shì nǐ suǒ zhī dào de ； yě céng tīng jiàn yǒu rén zhǐ zhe tā men shuō ：『 shuí néng zài yà nà zú rén miàn qián zhàn lì de zhù ne ？』
  - a people great and tall, the sons of the Anakim, whom you know, and of whom you have heard say, “Who can stand before the sons of Anak?”
  - construction: 得
- **Job 41:10** — 没有那么凶猛的人敢惹它。 这样，谁能在我面前站立得住呢？
  - méi yǒu nà me xiōng měng de rén gǎn rě tā 。  zhè yàng ， shuí néng zài wǒ miàn qián zhàn lì de zhù ne ？
  - None is so fierce that he dare stir him up. Who then is he who can stand before me?
  - construction: 得
- **Psalms 76:7** — 惟独你是可畏的！ 你怒气一发，谁能在你面前站得住呢？
  - wéi dú nǐ shì kě wèi de ！  nǐ nù qì yì fā ， shuí néng zài nǐ miàn qián zhàn de zhù ne ？
  - You, even you, are to be feared. Who can stand in your sight when you are angry?
  - construction: 得
- **Galatians 5:7** — 你们向来跑得好，有谁拦阻你们，叫你们不顺从真理呢？
  - nǐ men xiàng lái pǎo de hǎo ， yǒu shuí lán zǔ nǐ men ， jiào nǐ men bú shùn cóng zhēn lǐ ne ？
  - You were running well! Who interfered with you that you should not obey the truth?
  - construction: 得

## The words this point is built on

| Word | Reading | HSK | Occurrences |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 得 | dé | 2 | 929 |
| 得 | de | 2 | 110 |
| 得 | děi | 2 | 1 |

The HSK column is the level data/dict.json gives the word, and it is what puts this point at level 2.

## What those occurrences are doing

|  | Occurrences | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| the construction | 110 | 11% |
| the same words doing something else | 930 | 89% |

## Where it occurs most

| Book | Clauses |
| --- | --- |
| Deuteronomy | 9 |
| 1 Corinthians | 8 |
| Exodus | 6 |
| Jeremiah | 6 |
| 2 Chronicles | 5 |

Counted from what the rule matched, before the audit — a ranking, not a published total.

## Questions

**Is 得 the same word as 的 and 地?**

Three different characters, all reduced to de when they are particles, which is why they are confused constantly. 的 attaches a modifier to a noun, 地 to a verb, 得 introduces what follows the verb.

**How often does it occur in the Chinese Bible?**

110 clauses in the Chinese Union Version (和合本, simplified), out of 1,040 occurrences of the words that mark it.

**Which book of the Bible uses it most?**

Deuteronomy, with 9 — followed by 1 Corinthians (8), Exodus (6), Jeremiah (6).

**How do you know the count is right?**

The rule is: 得 read de — the particle reading, as against the verb dé 'to obtain'. The reading is the whole rule. 30 of its 110 matches were drawn at random and checked one by one; 93% were right. Recall is not measured, so the figure is what this rule finds, not everything the translation contains.

Page: https://chinese-bible.com/en/grammar/de-degree

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