How to use 着；得着；不着
Verb + 着; verb + 得 / 不 + 着
As a result complement, 着 indicates that an action reaches its intended result or succeeds in a relevant way. The exact outcome comes from the verb, such as entering sleep or finding something sought. This 着 is pronounced zháo, unlike the neutral-tone particle used to describe an ongoing state. Learning the whole verb combination helps keep those functions separate.
Potential forms insert 得 or 不 before 着 to discuss whether the result can be achieved. A negative completed-event sentence instead reports that the result did not occur. These are different claims: something may have failed on one occasion without being impossible in general. Context also determines whether a common combination overlaps with a corresponding 到 expression.
Examples with pinyin and English
宝宝刚睡着。
The baby just fell asleep.
你的手机找着了吗？
Did you find your cell phone?
超市关门了，你要的东西我没买着。
The supermarket is closed. I didn't buy things that you need.
我终于见着你了。
I have finally met you.
晚上我睡不着的时候就看书。
At night when can't get to sleep, I read a book.
这么晚了， 买得着吗？
It's so late already, can we buy it?
What to remember
- Pronounce the result complement zháo.
- Use 得着 or 不着 for potential.
- Separate failure on an occasion from inability.
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Source and editorial notes
Explanation rewritten for Laowai. Examples are adapted from the Laowai English grammar curriculum, with editorial corrections where needed. The original curriculum credits AllSet Learning’s Chinese Grammar Wiki as used with permission. Read the retained source credits.
Difficulty labels describe the level of the explanation; they are not official HSK placement. Send a correction with this page’s URL.