Speaker
Description
Introduction
Chinese resultative complements such as Wan (完), Hao (好), and Dao (到) are frequently treated in bilingual dictionaries as generalized markers of completion or result. However, existing lexicographic descriptions often rely on simplified lexical glosses such as ‘finish’, ‘good’, or ‘arrive’, obscuring important cognitive-functional distinctions among these complements. In actual usage, the three markers exhibit differentiated event-structural patterns, semantic preferences, and translational correspondences. This study reexamines Wan, Hao, and Dao through a Chinese–Korean parallel corpus and argues for a cognitively informed, corpus-based approach to bilingual lexicography, with implications for learner-oriented and AI-assisted dictionary design.
Theoretical Framework
Following corpus-driven approaches to bilingual lexicography (Atkins & Rundell, 2008), this study adopts a cognitive-functional perspective combining cognitive scanning and image-schema theory. Langacker’s notion of cognitive scanning explains how speakers construe events (Langacker, 1987, pp. 244–249), while Johnson’s image schemas, such as CONTAINMENT and PATH (Johnson, 1987, pp. 21–30), provide a framework for modeling boundedness, resultant configuration, and goal attainment.
Figure 1* presents the cognitive-image-schematic profiles of the three complements. Wan profiles a bounded process brought to terminal exhaustion, Hao profiles the transformation of a disordered or incomplete state into an acceptable configuration, and Dao profiles movement or access toward a spatial, perceptual, or abstract target.
Methodology
The dataset consists of 871 valid instances of Wan, Hao, and Dao extracted from the AI Hub Chinese–Korean parallel corpus of broadcast discourse. Each example was manually annotated for verb class, verb supercategory, object type, object-role structure, functional group, aspectual subtype, and Korean translational correspondence. Frequency distributions, percentage comparisons, and χ² tests were used to identify statistically differentiated semantic-functional tendencies.
Findings
The corpus analysis reveals that Wan (完), Hao (好), and Dao (到) form statistically differentiated cognitive-functional profiles across verb classes, object preferences, functional distributions, and Korean translational correspondences.
First, the three complements exhibit significantly different verb-class distributions (χ², p < .001). Wan preferentially co-occurs with consumption, communication, and creation-related verbs, reflecting exhaustive completion and resource depletion. Patterns such as 吃完, 用完, and 做完 profile bounded completion and sequential event closure. In contrast, Hao frequently occurs with action, arrangement, and cognition-related verbs, indicating successful configuration or readiness, as in 准备好 and 安排好. Dao shows strong associations with perception, cognition, and motion verbs, including 看到, 听到, and 找到, reflecting attainment toward perceptual, cognitive, or goal-oriented endpoints.
Second, functional-group distributions also differ significantly (χ², p < .001). Wan is associated with SEQUENTIAL and CONFIGURATION functions, and also appears in MODALITY-related contexts involving obligation release, such as 做完就不用…. Hao is strongly associated with DIRECTIVE and STATUS_NOTIFICATION functions, signaling preparation, readiness, or resultant-state confirmation. Dao is linked to EVALUATION and STATUS functions, highlighting attainment and realization of abstract or perceptual targets.
Third, object-type distributions reinforce these distinctions. Wan tends to co-occur with bounded eventive and discourse-related objects, including tasks, speech content, and information. Hao predominantly combines with manipulable concrete entities, reflecting state-configuration processes. Dao frequently occurs with abstract, discourse-related, and locational objects, emphasizing endpoint-oriented attainment.
Finally, Korean translational correspondences also reflect these profiles. Wan is often translated as ‘-다’, ‘끝내다’, or ‘다 해버리다’; Hao as ‘준비되다’, ‘잘’, or ‘-해 놓다’; and Dao as ‘도달하다’, ‘찾다’, ‘보다’, or ‘듣다’. These patterns show that the semantic distinctions among Wan, Hao, and Dao are reflected in both Chinese corpus distributions and bilingual translational behavior.
Based on these distributional patterns, the study proposes an integrated [V-RC-O] selection-constraint model in which the three complements interact differently with verb semantics, object boundedness, and image-schematic patterns.
Lexicographic Implications and Conclusion
These findings suggest that bilingual dictionaries should not reduce Wan, Hao, and Dao to isolated glosses such as ‘finish’, ‘good’, or ‘arrive’. Instead, entries should reflect their distinct cognitive-functional profiles: Wan as exhaustive completion, Hao as readiness-oriented configuration, and Dao as attainment-oriented realization. By integrating corpus distributions, functional tendencies, and Korean translational mappings, this study proposes a cognitively informed, corpus-based model for Chinese–Korean bilingual lexicography.
* see Book of Abstracts