Fixed Phrases: 不得了、用不着、得了
不得了 (bù dé liǎo) = extremely — used as a degree complement after 得: Adj/V + 得 + 不得了 (an extreme/over-the-top degree). 高兴得不得了 = extremely happy.
用不着 (yòng bu zháo) = no need to / no use for — negative potential complement of 用得着: 用不着 + N/VP.
✅ 这些旧衣服你用不着了吧，不如捐出去。
得了 (dé le) = 'that's enough / fine, OK' — a colloquial interjection to end a discussion or express disbelief (得了吧 = oh please, come on).
✅ 得了，别再抱怨了，赶紧准备考试吧。
Worked examples
| Chinese | Pinyin | English | What it shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| 听到这个好消息，她高兴得不得了。 | Tīng dào zhè ge hǎo xiāo xi, tā gāo xìng de bù dé liǎo. | Hearing the good news, she was extremely happy. | 不得了 after 得 intensifies the adjective to an extreme degree. |
| 这些旧衣服你用不着了吧，不如捐出去。 | Zhè xiē jiù yī fu nǐ yòng bu zháo le ba, bù rú juān chū qù. | You probably have no use for these old clothes anymore — why not donate them. | 用不着 states there is no need for/use of something, suggesting an alternative action (捐出去). |
| 得了，别再抱怨了，赶紧准备明天的考试吧。 | Dé le, bié zài bào yuàn le, gǎn jǐn zhǔn bèi míng tiān de kǎo shì ba. | Enough — stop complaining and hurry up and prepare for tomorrow's exam. | 得了 opens the sentence as a colloquial interjection to shut down further complaining. |
What this opens up
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