Two of the most common result complements in Chinese are 到 (dào) and 见
(jiàn). On this page we're only going to be talking about verbs related
to the senses ("see," "hear," etc.), and for this usage, the two are
interchangeable.

Verbs with 到 (dào) and 见 (jiàn)
---------------------------------

### Structure

[Result complements](Result_complement "wikilink") are a huge topic in
Chinese grammar, but you can approach them in stages. The structure you
come across the most is a verb with 到 (dào):

<div class="jiegou">
Subj. + Verb + 到 + Obj.

</div>
What 到 (dào) does is indicate that the outcome of the verb is achieved
- what its *result* is. Without a result complement, the sentence would
describe only the action itself. To illustrate, 看 (kàn) "to look" is
the action of turning your head in a particular direction and focusing
your eyes, whereas 看到 (kàndào), "to see," is the result of your brain
taking in the visual input. It may sound a little hokey, but it really
is possible to "look but not see," and Chinese makes a clear distinction
between the action and the result.

The complement 见 (jiàn) is very similar to 到 (dào), and it is used in
the same way:

<div class="jiegou">
Subj. + Verb + 见 + Obj.

</div>
However, there is a difference. 见 (jiàn) is generally *only* used after
verbs involving one of the senses, like 听 (tīng) and 看 (kàn), whereas
到 (dào) can be attached to a large variety of verbs, which we will
discuss [at a higher level later](Tricky_uses_of_"dao" "wikilink").

### Examples

<div class="liju">
-   你 <strong>看</strong> <em>见</em> 那 个 帅哥 了 吗 ？
    <span class="pinyin">Nǐ <strong>kàn</strong><em>jiàn</em> nàge
    shuàigē le ma?</span>
-   你 <strong>看</strong><em>到</em> 那 个 帅哥 了 吗 ？
    <span class="pinyin">Nǐ <strong>kàn</strong><em>dào</em> nàge
    shuàigē le ma?</span><span class="trans">Did you see that handsome
    guy?</span>

</div>
<div class="liju">
-   我 <strong>看</strong> <em>见</em> 了 。 <span class="expl">We
    didn't say what "I" saw; you have to infer it from the
    context.</span><span class="pinyin">Wǒ
    <strong>kàn</strong><em>jiàn</em> le.</span>
-   我 <strong>看</strong> <em>到</em> 了 。 <span class="pinyin">Wǒ
    <strong>kàn</strong><em>dào</em> le.</span><span class="trans">I saw
    it.</span>

</div>
<div class="liju">
-   你 <strong>听</strong> <em>见</em> 了 吗 ？ <span class="pinyin">Nǐ
    <strong>tīng</strong><em>jiàn</em> le ma?</span>
-   你 <strong>听</strong> <em>到</em> 了 吗 ？ <span class="pinyin">Nǐ
    <strong>tīng</strong><em>dào</em> le
    ma?</span><span class="trans">Did you hear it?</span>

</div>
Negative Forms
--------------

### Structure

<div class="jiegou">
Subj. + 没 + Verb + 到 / 见 + Obj.

</div>
This structure can be negated using 没 (méi) on 没有 (méiyǒu). This is
because if there is a result, then it already happened. And you need to
[use 没 (méi) to negate past
events](Negation_of_"you"_with_"mei" "wikilink"), not 不 (bù).

### Examples

<div class="liju">
-   你 <strong>没</strong> 看 <em>到</em> 那 个 帅哥 吗 ？
    <span class="pinyin">Nǐ <strong>méi</strong> kàn<em>dào</em> nàge
    shuàigē ma?</span>
-   你 <strong>没</strong> 看 <em>见</em> 那 个 帅哥 吗 ？
    <span class="pinyin">Nǐ <strong>méi</strong> kàn<em>jiàn</em> nàge
    shuàigē ma?</span><span class="trans">You didn't see that handsome
    guy?</span>

</div>
<div class="liju">
-   我 <strong>没有</strong> 看 <em>到</em> 。 <span class="pinyin">Wǒ
    <strong>méiyǒu</strong> kàn<em>dào</em>.</span>
-   我 <strong>没有</strong> 看 <em>见</em> 。 <span class="expl">We
    didn't say what "I" didn't see; you have to infer it from the
    context.</span><span class="pinyin">Wǒ <strong>méiyǒu</strong>
    kàn<em>jiàn</em>.</span><span class="trans">I didn't see it.</span>

</div>
<div class="liju">
-   你 <strong>没</strong> 听 <em>到</em> 吗 ？ <span class="pinyin">Nǐ
    <strong>méi</strong> tīng<em>dào</em> ma?</span>
-   你 <strong>没</strong> 听 <em>见</em> 吗 ？ <span class="pinyin">Nǐ
    <strong>méi</strong> tīng<em>jiàn</em>
    ma?</span><span class="trans">You didn't hear it?</span>

</div>
See also
--------

-   [Result complement "-wan" for
    finishing](Result_complement_"-wan"_for_finishing "wikilink")
-   [Result complement "-qilai"](Result_complement_"-qilai" "wikilink")
-   [Result complement "-cuo"](Result_complement_"-cuo" "wikilink")

Sources and further reading
---------------------------

### Books

-   [Short-term Spoken Chinese: Threshold Vol.
    2 (汉语口语入门篇下)](Short-term_Spoken_Chinese:_Threshold_Vol._2_(汉语口语入门篇下) "wikilink") (p.
    92)
    [→buy](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/7561913656/ref%3das_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=7561913656)
-   [Basic Patterns of Chinese
    Grammar](Basic_Patterns_of_Chinese_Grammar "wikilink") (p. 109)
    [→buy](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1933330899/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=1933330899)
-   [40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course
    (基础汉语40课上册）](40_Lessons_for_Basic_Chinese_Course_(基础汉语40课上册） "wikilink") (pp.
    205-6)[→buy](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001FTL8D8/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001FTL8D8&linkCode=as2&tag=allset-20)

[Category:A2 grammar points](Category:A2_grammar_points "wikilink")
[Category:Result complement](Category:Result_complement "wikilink")