...死了 and ...得厉害 for “Extremely”
Add 死了 or 得厉害 after an adjective or a feeling verb to say a state is extreme, as in 累死了 and 冷得厉害.
Pattern
adjective/feeling verb + 死了; adjective/feeling verb + 得 + 厉害
死了 and 得厉害 come after the word they describe and push it to the extreme: “terribly, so much.” 死了 is very colloquial and emotional; 得厉害 is a little calmer and is used mostly for unpleasant states.
作业太多了，我累死了。
When to use ...死了 and ...得厉害 for “Extremely”
Both complements go after an adjective (热, 累, 冷, 吵) or a feeling verb (想, 急, 担心). 死了 attaches directly: 热死了, 累死了, 高兴死了. It is an exaggeration, like English “I’m dying of heat,” so it belongs to casual speech, and it can also take an object pronoun: 急死我了. 厉害 needs 得 in front: 冷得厉害, 吵得厉害, 想家想得厉害. It describes a strong degree, usually of something unpleasant.
今天热死了！
It’s boiling hot today!
这几天冷得厉害。
It’s been really cold these days.
外面吵得厉害，我睡不着。
It’s terribly noisy outside; I can’t sleep.
听说明天放假，大家高兴死了。
When they heard tomorrow is a holiday, everyone was thrilled.
Common traps
- 厉害 needs 得: say 冷得厉害, not 冷厉害.
- 死了 is casual and exaggerated; avoid it in formal speech or writing.
- Don’t add 很 before the adjective: say 累死了, not 很累死了.
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