"你说得很慢。"
Translation:You speak very slowly.
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Short answer: 得 goes between a verb and an adjective to essentially turn that adjective into an adverb.
很慢 very slow -> 得很慢 very slowly
Long answer: This video from Chinesepod really helped me with 'de' particles; I re-watch it from time to time to understand more in-depth as my level improves (I also like that it's explained in both English and Chinese for listening practice):
The Three De's
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggPbyZN96ss
(This character specifically is discussed at 6:55)
I can't give you enough Lingots for that, this really helped a lot! I love how they also hand-count the different parts of the video in English and Chinese respectively. Very great resource, 谢谢！ I don't know how to say "Thank you very much" yet lol sorry
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I am giving you a lingot because I learn a lot more from these discussions than the actual Duolingo. Posting a link to that video has helped me understand this topic. Thank you.
It's annoying that I cannot open the link while using the app on android... Do you mind sharing the link directly?
Using 得 in front of an adjective (e.g. slow) transforms it into an adverb (slowly).
Its a descriptive particle, essentially say that they speak to such an extent that is it slow
What is a descriptive particle? When do you need or use them? Are there many kinds? Are they easily identified in a sentence?
See the video linked above. Here is the very fast version: there are 3 particles in Chinese that link descriptors to the words they describe: 的, 地, and 得. They are all pronounced "de". They are absolutely 100% grammatically necessary in many, many sentence structures.
Usage:
descriptor + 的 + noun
descriptor + 地 + verb
verb + 得 + descriptor
It is a complement of degree or 程度补语，得 usually take place after verb and often followed by adjectives,we used them to describe how well an action is done. In this case 说 (Verb) + 得 (Compl. Degree) + 很慢 (慢 itself is an Adj).
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It pretty much links a verb or an adjective to a complement which describes the manner or degree.
Because:
descriptor + 的 +noun
descriptor + 地 + verb
verb + 得 + descriptor
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Please watch the video that Yomalyn gives the link for in the response above. It does a pretty good job of explaining the differences.
It is a complement of degree or 程度补语，得 usually take place after verb and often followed by adjectives, we used them to describe how well an action is done. In this case 说(Verb) + 得 (Compl. Degree) + 很慢 (慢 itself in an Adj).
Literally your sentence should be "你说得非常慢。" 非常 is stronger than 很. The general concept doesn't differ too much, though.
Can 说 be translated as "talk"? I just got pinged as wrong for putting "talk" instead of "speak," and I don't know if I should flag it or not.
I'm reviewing this lesson and I got tripped up on this translation the first time I did this. When I hovered over the 得, the hints say it is 'need.' So when I type in "You need to speak slowly" it's wrong. According to that Chinese Pod video link Yomalyn posted, 得 does not mean need. It is particle that denotes a degree. That hint should not be in there.
Agreed. Duolingo fails to distinguish polyphones almost every time they appear. Keep reporting it! 得 is a polyphone, a character with more than one pronunciation, and those pronunciations have different meanings. 得 as "de" is a grammatical particle in the structure verb + 得 +descriptor. 得 as "děi" is a verb meaning "need".
There is a Chome extension for Duolingo by RobinCard that adds a slow talk option. Has some other nice features as well, well worth using. Go to the google chrome store and search for "Duolingo Chinese".
I actually had never heard of the google chrome store or extensions! You've changed the whole game :D
Another HUGE advantage of that extension is that you can switch between Simplified and Traditional characters! Thank you so much!
This sentence is just an observation? Not requesting the speaker to change anything?
The translation of this sentence could be "you speak slowly". "很" does mean "very", but it isn't necessarily all that emphatic because it's often used just to make a sentence "sound better".
"你说得慢" can also be used, but without "很", it can be used as an implied comparison, with the interpretation being "Of the two people under consideration, it's you who speaks more slowly." One function of "很", in addition to making a sentence sound better, so to speak, is to remove any residual comparative implication (at least with simple and tangible adjectives/adverbs — the sense is different with more complicated descriptors). However, this is somewhat contextual.
If you really wanted to emphasize "very", you could choose a word other than "很", but that doesn't mean that "very" is wrong in translating "很".
The audio for 慢 is incorrect. It should be a 4th tone, not a 3rd like I hear.
Yes. The female voice on this discussion page is correct, but the male voice on the question page is wrong.
is this a suggestion, an observation, a command or what you say when asking someone to slow down so you can understand?
It's an observation. A couple of ways to ask/tell someone to slow down (or ask them if they're able to) are the imperative "（请）说慢一点" and the interrogatives "可以请你说慢一点吗？" and "你能说（再）慢一点吗".
I took it to be an observation from the beginning, and then after reading some comments I suddenly lost my self assurance. 谢谢煎饼教授！
Does the tone for 慢 sound off to anyone else? It should have a fourth tone, and it sounds like a third tone.
No, unfortunately not! 得 will always come after the verb.
If we try to translate literally, Chinese structure with 得 is closer to "You speak+ly very slow"
What makes this "very"? How would you say it if you wanted to just say "you speak slowly"?
The translation of this sentence could be "you speak slowly". "很" does mean "very", but it isn't necessarily all that emphatic because it's often used just to make a sentence "sound better".
"你说得慢" can also be used, but without "很", it can be used as an implied comparison, with the interpretation being "Of the two people under consideration, it's you who speaks more slowly." One function of "很", in addition to making a sentence sound better, is to remove any residual comparative implication (at least with simple and tangible adjectives/adverbs — the sense is different with more complicated descriptors). However, this is somewhat contextual.
If you really wanted to emphasize "very", you could choose a word other than "很", but that doesn't mean that "very" is wrong in translating "很".
I find that this is often overstated. It's not an absolute rule, and literally, "很" is translated as "very", though it doesn't necessarily carry as much emphasis, if any.
Is "very" necessary in translation? 很 connects verb and adjective and also mean "very". But is it translated as "very"?
"Very" isn't necessary in translation, but it's also not really wrong. It's in a sort of grey area.
得 is just a connection between the verb and the adv, it must not be omitted. such as 他死的很快， means he dies very fast
Not in this case. 得 here is used to make 慢 an adverb instead of an adjective, as Yomalyn stated up above.
OMG.. Ok I am constantly testing the limits of Duo.. I like to see how tight and also how loose words are traded between languages... I just answered this with " you talk slow!" and got marked CORRECT!! he he he cracks me right up! I imagine an American southern boy accent... I'm still laughing!!
I put talk very quickly rather than speak very quickly and was marked wrong. speak and talk in English mean exactly the same thing.
Which is the "very" in this sentence? To me this says "you speak slowly" which duo also accepts, but I'm nevertheless confused about this.
I've addressed this question in a few comments already, if you'd like to take a look.
Oh, I'm sorry. I missed the link to another thread you put in one of the posts. That was exactly what I needed to read!