Where it goes

的 sits between a modifier and a NOUN: 美丽的花, 我的书. 地 sits between an adverb and a VERB: 慢慢地走, 认真地学习. 得 sits between a VERB and its complement: 跑得快, 他说得很清楚.

What it does

01的 — adjective / pronoun / clause + 的 + noun: 红色的车, 我的书, 我买的菜
02地 — descriptive adverb + 地 + verb: 认真地学习, 高高兴兴地说
03得 — verb / adjective + 得 + complement: 他说得很慢, 累得要命
04Reduplicated adjectives (慢慢, 好好, AABB forms) almost always take 地 before a verb.

Common learner errors

⚠慢慢的走 → 慢慢地走 (adverb before a verb takes 地)
⚠他跑的很快 → 他跑得很快 (complement after a verb takes 得)
⚠But nominalized verbs keep 的: 看的人很多, 他说的话 — these are noun phrases, not complements.

Try it

他跑的很快，我们应该慢慢的走。

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Grammar explanations on Chinese365 are self-authored and reference the structured Knowledge Base that every other tool also reads from. If you find a mistake, please email us.

的 / 地 / 得 (de) — The three de particles