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ChineseGrammarWiki


			
				
					
						
						
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<p>Chinese learners often have to express that they don't
understand something, especially in the beginning when they start
learning. One of the ways to express that is to use the 不懂 (bù
dǒng) verb complement.</p>
<h2 id="structure">Structure</h2>
<p>Yes, 不懂 (bù dǒng) by itself simply means "not understand," and
you can use it this way. But you'll find that more often, it
follows a verb. When used this way, it is a <a href="complement"
class="uri" title="wikilink">complement</a>.</p>
<p>The <a href="potential_complement" title="wikilink">potential
complement</a> 不懂 (bù dǒng) is used to talk about things that can't
be understood. Note that this is about <em>potential</em>: the
subject doesn't have the <em>ability</em> to understand.</p>
<div class="jiegou">
<p>Subj. + Verb + 不懂</p>
</div>
<p>The 不懂 (bù dǒng) may also be swapped out with 不明白 (bù
míngbai).</p>
<h2 id="examples">Examples</h2>
<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li>我 <strong>看</strong> <em>不 懂</em> 这 本 书。<span class=
"expl pdf-long-expl">Literally,
"read-not-understand"</span><span class="pinyin">Wǒ
<strong>kàn</strong> <em>bu dǒng</em> zhè běn
shū.</span><span class="trans">I don't understand the
book.</span></li>
<li>孩子们 <strong>看</strong> <em>不 懂</em> 你 写 的 汉字。<span class=
"expl pdf-long-expl">Literally,
"read-not-understand"</span><span class="pinyin">Háizi men
<strong>kàn</strong> <em>bu dǒng</em> nǐ xiě de
Hànzì.</span><span class="trans">Kids don't understand the
characters that you wrote.</span></li>
<li>你 <strong>看</strong> <em>不 懂</em> 我 的 邮件 吗？<span class=
"expl pdf-long-expl">Literally,
"read-not-understand"</span><span class="pinyin">Nǐ
<strong>kàn</strong> <em>bu dǒng</em> wǒ de yóujiàn
ma?</span><span class="trans">Do you not understand my
emails?</span></li>
<li>老板 的 中文 说 得 很好，可是 他 <strong>看</strong> <em>不 懂</em> 中文 报纸。
<span class="expl pdf-long-expl">Literally,
"read-not-understand"</span><span class="pinyin">Lǎobǎn de Zhōngwén
shuō de hěn hǎo, kěshì tā <strong>kàn</strong> <em>bu dǒng</em>
Zhōngwén bàozhǐ.</span><span class="trans">The boss speaks very
good Chinese, but he doesn't understand Chinese
newspapers.</span></li>
<li>我 <strong>听</strong> <em>不 懂</em> 上海话 。 <span class=
"expl pdf-long-expl">Literally,
"hear-not-understand"</span><span class="pinyin">Wǒ
<strong>tīng</strong> <em>bu dǒng</em>
Shànghǎi-huà.</span><span class="trans">I don't understand Shanghai
dialect.</span></li>
<li>你们 <strong>听</strong> <em>不 懂</em> 我 的 话 吗？<span class=
"expl pdf-long-expl">Literally,
"hear-not-understand"</span><span class="pinyin">Nǐmen
<strong>tīng</strong> <em>bu dǒng</em> wǒ de huà
ma?</span><span class="trans">Do you not understand what I
say?</span></li>
<li>我 <strong>听</strong> <em>不 懂</em> 你 说 的 英语。 <span class=
"expl pdf-long-expl">Literally,
"hear-not-understand"</span><span class="pinyin">Wǒ
<strong>tīng</strong> <em>bu dǒng</em> nǐ shuō de
Yīngyǔ.</span><span class="trans">I don't understand your
English.</span></li>
<li>我们 都 <strong>听</strong> <em>不 懂</em> 你 的 意思。 <span class=
"expl pdf-long-expl">Literally,
"hear-not-understand"</span><span class="pinyin">Wǒmen dōu
<strong>tīng</strong> <em>bu dǒng</em> nǐ de
yìsi.</span><span class="trans">None of us understand what you
mean.</span></li>
<li>很 多 人 <strong>读</strong> <em>不懂</em> 这 本 书 。 <span class=
"expl pdf-long-expl">Literally,
"read-not-understand"</span><span class="pinyin">Hěn duō rén
<strong>dú</strong> <em>bu dǒng</em> zhè běn
shū.</span><span class="trans">Many people don't understand this
book.</span></li>
<li>这 个 句子 很 难， 学生们 都 <strong>读</strong> <em>不 懂</em>。 <span class=
"expl pdf-long-expl">Literally,
"read-not-understand"</span><span class="pinyin">Zhège jùzi hěn
nán, xuéshengmen dōu <strong>dú</strong> <em>bu
dǒng</em>.</span><span class="trans">This sentence is very
difficult. None of the students understand.</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="Potential_complement_&quot;bu_xia&quot;" title=
"wikilink">Potential complement "bu xia"</a></li>
<li><a href="Positive_and_negative_potential_complements" title=
"wikilink">Positive and negative potential complements</a></li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources-and-further-reading">Sources and further
reading</h2>
<h3 id="books">Books</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href=
"A_Practical_Chinese_Grammar_For_Foreigners_(%E5%A4%96%E5%9B%BD%E4%BA%BA%E5%AE%9E%E7%94%A8%E6%B1%89%E8%AF%AD%E8%AF%AD%E6%B3%95)"
title="wikilink">A Practical Chinese Grammar For Foreigners
(外国人实用汉语语法)</a> (pp. 242-3, pp. 271 - 329) <a href=
"http://www.amazon.cn/mn/detailApp?_encoding=UTF8&amp;tag=allset-23&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;asin=B001J0ADWA&amp;camp=536&amp;creative=3132&amp;creativeASIN=B001J0ADWA">
→buy</a></li>
<li><a href=
"Chinese_Grammar_Without_Tears_(%E7%AE%80%E6%98%8E%E6%B1%89%E8%AF%AD%E8%AF%AD%E6%B3%95%E5%AD%A6%E4%B9%A0%E6%89%8B%E5%86%8C)"
title="wikilink">Chinese Grammar Without Tears (简明汉语语法学习手册)</a>
(Chapter 6: Complements) <a href=
"http://www.amazon.cn/mn/detailApp/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&amp;tag=allset-23&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;asin=B0041UGAJU&amp;camp=536&amp;creative=3132&amp;creativeASIN=B0041UGAJU">
→buy</a></li>
<li><a href=
"New_Practical_Chinese_Reader_3_(%E6%96%B0%E5%AE%9E%E7%94%A8%E6%B1%89%E8%AF%AD%E8%AF%BE%E6%9C%AC3)"
title="wikilink">New Practical Chinese Reader 3 (新实用汉语课本3)</a> (pp.
200 - 201) <a href=
"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/756191251X/ref%3das_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=allset-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=217145&amp;creative=399369&amp;creativeASIN=756191251X">
→buy</a></li>
<li><a href=
"New_Practical_Chinese_Reader_2_(%E6%96%B0%E5%AE%9E%E7%94%A8%E6%B1%89%E8%AF%AD%E8%AF%BE%E6%9C%AC2)"
title="wikilink">New Practical Chinese Reader 2 (新实用汉语课本2)</a> (pp.
87-8) <a href=
"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/7561911297/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=allset-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=217145&amp;creative=399369&amp;creativeASIN=7561911297">
→buy</a></li>
<li><a href="Chinese:_An_Essential_Grammar,_Second_Edition" title=
"wikilink">Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition</a> (pp.
97-9) <a href=
"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0415372615/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=allset-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=217145&amp;creative=399369&amp;creativeASIN=0415372615">
→buy</a></li>
<li><a href=
"Practicing_HSK_Grammar_(%E8%AF%AD%E6%B3%95%E7%B2%BE%E8%AE%B2%E7%B2%BE%E7%82%BC)"
title="wikilink">Practicing HSK Grammar (语法精讲精炼)</a> (pp, 186-7)
<a href=
"http://www.amazon.cn/mn/detailApp/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&amp;tag=allset-23&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;asin=B001N6R7DI&amp;camp=536&amp;creative=3132&amp;creativeASIN=B001N6R7DI">
→buy</a></li>
</ul>
<h3 id="websites">Websites</h3>
<ul>
<li>Wikipedia: <a href=
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complement_(linguistics)">Complement
(linguistics)</a></li>
<li>Baidu Baike (Chinese): <a href=
"http://baike.baidu.com/view/146650.htm">补语</a></li>
<li>Blog entry (Chinese): <a href=
"http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_610d94db0100hj5u.html">状态补语</a></li>
</ul>
<p><a href="Category:A2_grammar_points" title=
"wikilink">Category:A2 grammar points</a> <a href=
"Category:Potential_complement" title="wikilink">Category:Potential
complement</a></p>
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