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An Extremely Useful Chinese Grammar Structure Potential
Complement
By Julie Tha Gyaw | Date: June 2nd, 2014 | Category: Chinese Language
T!ng bu d"ng. .
Sad but true this is one of the first phrases I learned to say in Chinese, meaning I dont understand
what youre saying.
I remember wondering, How is it possible for just three little syllables to mean all that?
I eventually started learning Chinese, and was looking forward to never using the phrase t!ng bu d"ng
ever again. But the idea of just three little syllables holding so much meaning continued to intrigue me.
When I reached my second year of college, the following exchange took place in my Chinese class:
.............................................................................................................................................
Dai Laoshi: Classmates, it is time to start speaking Chinese in a way that is not so basic.
Class: Awesome! Lets do it!
Dai Laoshi: We will begin by learning about potential complements.
Class: [Groan.] Sounds like complicated grammar.
Dai Laoshi: First we will learn the best way to say, Look for and can find, and Look for and cannot
find. Those are zh#o de do () and zh#o bu do (). Say it with me.
Class: Zh#o de do, zh#o bu do.
Dai Laoshi: Next we will learn to say, Can see by looking, and Cannot see by looking. Those are kn
de do () and kn bu do ().
.............................................................................................................................................
At that point, I began actually paying attention. Once again, I was struck by how much meaning was
packed into such short phrases. Before long, it dawned on me that t!ng bu d"ng is also a potential
complement phrase.
Soon, this (potentially) dry and boring grammatical concept became one of the many reasons why I love
Chinese.
They take some getting used to, but once you get it and start using them, it's so much more fun than
always relying on boring old k$ y% () or nng () all the time. Besides, using potential
complements makes you feel like you have rock star Chinese!
I've written about some potential complements that are my favorite to use in conversation. Theyre my
favorite not only because they are just three little syllables packed with meaning, but also because these
particular ones are very useful in certain situations.
Ive grouped them into three categories (situations) for youshopping, dining, and story-telling.

Use these potential complement phrases when SHOPPING:
M!i bu q"
This means "can't afford to buy" and can be helpful in a bargaining situation.
If a vendor quotes you a high price, you can scoff and say m#i bu q%. Although, the vendor might scoff
back and say, Youre a foreigner! Of course you can afford it! N% sh y g wi go rn, d&ng rn m#i
de q%! ()
You also hear this one a lot when people are talking about the high prices of real estate in China.
So many people m#i bu q% fngzi (), or "cannot afford to buy a house."
M!i bu do (Unable to buy)
This describes a situation where you intend to buy something, but cannot because it's sold out or the
stores are out of stock.
It's often the case that you m#i bu do train tickets in China during a national holiday, because too many
people are traveling at those times.
You can also use this phrase if you want to say, Money cannot buy happiness, which is qin m#i bu do xng f (
).
Chu#n bu shng
Many Western-sized people unfortunately have to put
this phrase to good use when trying to buy clothes or
shoes in China.
It means cant put it on and you can use it to refer to
things that are too small to wear. I myself have had
many occasions to use this phrase with shop
assistants as I came out of a dressing room, handed
them back the clothes, and sadly said chu&n bu
shng.

Use these potential complement phrases when DINING:
Zu de xi
You use this phrase to talk about how many people can sit around a table.
If you have a large group of people eating together at a restaurant, youll discover that most Chinese
banquet-style round tables zu de xi ten people comfortably, and any more than twelve people is
definitely zu bu xi ().
Ch$ bu xi
This one is so descriptive! It literally means cannot eat down, as if youre unable to swallow another
bite, because your stomach is just too full.
This phrase is especially useful when youre at a
Chinese banquet or invited to someones home and
some well-meaning person is practically force-feeding
you yet ANOTHER bite of food.
Just say, W" ch! bu xi le! () They will
get the message that youre busting at the seams.
Ch$ bu wn
This one is similar to the last one, but means cannot
finish eating.
In China, the host of a meal will traditionally prepare
or order so much food that its ch! bu wn.
If its just enough to ch! de wn, and theres no food left on the table at the end of the meal, then the
host will probably start ordering more, assuming that everyone is still hungry.

Use these potential complement phrases for added drama in your STORYTELLING:
Shu bu li!o
Tweet Tweet 0
This one means cant stand it.
If you want to tell someone about how something is driving you crazy and you just can't or couldn't take it
for one more second, then you can say, W" shu bu li#o le! ()
You can really add some drama by exaggerating the fourth tone of shu too.
I heard a neighbor use this phrase once when complaining very animatedly to building management
about the noise levels coming from the floor above her.
Wng bu li!o
If you cannot forget something, even if perhaps youd LIKE to forget it, then youre in a wng bu li#o
situation.
Theres something dramatic and romantic about the phrase, so there are several Chinese songs and at
least one movie that have the title wng bu li#o.
If youre telling someone about something amazing that happened, you can say, Its forever etched into
my memory. W" yng yu#n wng bu li#o. (.)
Mng bu gu li
Okay, so this one is four syllables, not three, but I
think it deserves to be on this list because we all
experience the feeling of mng bu gu li every now
and then: it means something like too busy to
manage or cant keep up with everything I have to
do.
You can use this one when complaining to someone
about your situation at work, or if you need an
effective way of asking for help with something. Just
say, Its too much for me to do on my own. W" y
ge rn mng bu gu li. ().


What's next?
Even though potential complement may seem like a boring concept at first, it's extremely important and
useful.
Once you learn its grammatical structure, you can instantly apply it to countless conversational situations
in everyday life. Plus, you'll start understanding lots of short phrases Chinese people throw at you,
because potential complements are used everywhere!
We have an awesome video for you to dig deeper into this concept. Yangyang will show you through
several examples why it's wrong to translate "cannot" into "b hu ()" and "b nng ()" in many
real life situations, and why potential complements are such a big deal.
Watch the video now:

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ALSO ON YOYO CHINESE
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! Reply !
Baikaidi ! 4 days ago
This was very helpful! I've always wanted a complete list of these... How can I nd more?

3
! Reply !
Julie Tha Gyaw ! 3 days ago Baikaidi
So glad it's helpful for you! I'm not aware of any complete lists out there. Maybe
someone else knows of one? I do know that this topic is covered extensively in the
Grammar Lessons section on Yoyo Chinese. 13 lessons are devoted to potential
complements, so it's a great place to start.


! Reply !
CoreyInPDX ! 10 hours ago
Hi Julie, this is another great article, and caused me to start re-re-reviewing those grammar
lessons :-) This particular fragment you wrote left me wanting to see the complete Chinese
sentence: "zu de xi ten people comfortably"
Would this be a good way to phrase a sentence using this phrase: "?


! Reply !
Julie Tha Gyaw ! 8 hours ago CoreyInPDX
That's exactly right, Corey! And if you want to ask how many people can be seated
around a table, you can ask "?"


! Reply !
Dave Landis ! 3 days ago
Great article, Julie!


! Reply !
Julie Tha Gyaw ! 3 days ago Dave Landis
Thanks, Dave!


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