形容词 + 得不得了
extremely; terribly; no end
Structure
形容词／心理动词 得不得了
What it means
“Extremely; terribly”: after an adjective or a verb of feeling, it pushes the degree to the top, for good and bad alike.
How it is built
Adjective／feeling verb + 得不得了, with nothing after it: 老两口高兴得不得了 (the old couple were overjoyed).
When to use it
Lively and spoken. Works with 高兴, 着急, 担心, 喜欢. Similar: 极了 (no 得: 好极了), 得要命, 得很. On its own, 不得了 means “disaster!”: 不得了了，着火了！
Watch out
✗ 很高兴得不得了。 ✓ 高兴得不得了。 No 很 or 非常 before the adjective, and nothing follows 得不得了.
Examples
折腾了一整天，我的脚疼得不得了。
After a whole day of rushing about, my feet were killing me.
听说女儿要结婚了，老两口高兴得不得了。
When they heard their daughter was getting married, the old couple were overjoyed.
今年夏天热得不得了，空调一天都没关过。
This summer has been unbearably hot: the air conditioning has not been off for a single day.
Learn this in Lesson 42 · HSK 5–6: 婚礼这一天 (The wedding day)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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