得不得了 and 不得了 for “Extremely” and “Oh No!”
Use adjective + 得不得了 for “extremely,” 真不得了 for “amazing,” and 不得了了 as an alarmed “Oh no!”
Pattern
adjective / feeling verb + 得 + 不得了
After 得, 不得了 means “extremely, terribly”: 高兴得不得了, 紧张得不得了. On its own, 真不得了 praises something amazing, and 不得了了 is a cry of alarm when something bad has happened.
听说要去海边，孩子们高兴得不得了。
When to use 得不得了 and 不得了 for “Extremely” and “Oh No!”
As a degree complement, 不得了 follows an adjective or a feeling verb with 得: 高兴得不得了 “extremely happy,” 担心得不得了 “terribly worried.” It works for good and bad feelings and is common in speech. With a verb plus object, repeat the verb first: 想家想得不得了.
考试前一天，我紧张得不得了。
The day before the exam, I was terribly nervous.
你又考了第一名，真是不得了！
You came first again. That’s amazing!
不得了了，房间里进水了！
Oh no, water has got into the room!
这几天天气热得不得了，大家都不想出门。
It has been extremely hot these days, and nobody wants to go out.
Common traps
- Keep 得 in the complement: 高兴得不得了, not 高兴不得了.
- Don’t add 很 before the adjective: 很高兴得不得了 is wrong.
- 不得了了 is an alarm cry and 真不得了 is praise; let the context show which one you mean.
Targeted drill
Practice this exact pattern before moving on.
Keep this pattern in review.
You just practiced a real grammar card. Create a free account to save this pattern, schedule the next review, and keep studying from where you left off.
$9.99
Monthly
Per month
Best Value
$49.99
Yearly Unlimited
Per year
$119.99
Lifetime
One-time