(le) - aspect particle marking completion or a change of state in Mandarin
leTraditional: 了
Also read liǎo as a verb, to finish or to understand
Translation
aspect particle marking completion or a change of state
Word origin
了 as liǎo means to finish or to grasp fully; as le it is the aspect particle marking completion or change. The graph is often analysed as a pictograph of a child with bound arms.
- Origin
- pictograph
- Root
- 了 (liǎo/le), a child with bound arms
Stroke order
了
Examples
。
I understand what you mean.
。
I can't handle this matter.
。
He finally understood.
。
This matter goes on and on without end.
。
He has settled a matter weighing on his mind.
了 is most often the aspect particle le, marking a completed action or a change of state. The same character, read liǎo, also means to finish or to understand.
Where this fits
Appears in 12 words
Multi-character compounds in the corpus that contain 了.
Used in
Stories
(16)你去吗？
1 min read · Core 1000
不知道在哪里
2 min read · Core 1000
点错了
2 min read · Core 1000
错过公车
3 min read · Core 1000
打电话
3 min read · Core 1000
看医生
3 min read · Core 1000
迷路
3 min read · Core 1000
上班第一天
3 min read · Core 1000
生日的惊喜
3 min read · Core 1000
下雨的下午
3 min read · Core 1000
新邻居
3 min read · Core 1000
一起做饭
3 min read · Core 1000
早上的市场
3 min read · Core 1000
最后的车
3 min read · Core 1000
今年去哪里
4 min read · Core 1000
看场合
5 min read · Core 1000
Grammar articles
(57)Mandarin Adjectives as Stative Verbs: Why 'I Am Cold' Is 我冷, Not 我是冷
Mandarin Advanced Grammar (C1-C2 / HSK 6+): Chengyu, Classical Remnants, and Register
Approximation and Rounding in Mandarin: 左右, 大概, 差不多, 几 and 来 for About, Around and Roughly
Mandarin Aspect Markers: 了, 在/正在, 过 - the System That Replaces Tense
The Mandarin 把 (bǎ) Construction: Fronting the Object to Say What You Did To It
The Mandarin 被 (bèi) Passive: Saying Something Was Done To the Subject
不但...而且 in Mandarin: Not Only A But Also B (不仅, 还, 也, 并且)
Mandarin Causatives 使 (shǐ), 令 (lìng) and 让 (ràng): Making Someone Feel or Do Something
Mandarin Grammar Cheatsheet: The Essentials, One Page
Mandarin 除了...以外: One Frame, Two Opposite Meanings
Mandarin Co-verbs: 从, 到, 在, 用, 坐, 给 - the Prepositions That Look Like Verbs
Mandarin Comparatives: 比, 比较, 最, 跟…一样 and How to Say 'More', 'Most', 'Same As'
Mandarin Complements: 得 for Manner, Directional Endings, and How to Attach a Result to a Verb
Compound Directional Complements in Mandarin: Verb + 起来, 下去, 过来, 出来 and Motion Relative to the Speaker
Concession in Mandarin: 虽然...还是/但是, 不过, and 还是 (Although, Even So, Nonetheless)
Mandarin Conditionals: 如果, 要是, 的话 and the 就 That Finishes the Sentence
Mandarin Verb Conjugation: Why It Doesn't Exist and What Replaces It
Mandarin Conjunctions: 虽然…但是, 因为…所以, 如果…就 and the Paired Structures That Join Clauses
Asking How + Adjective in Mandarin with 多: 多高, 多远, 多长, 多大
Figurative Directional Complements in Mandarin: 起来, 下去 and 出来 Beyond Up, Down and Out
The Double 了 Sentence in Mandarin: 我学了三年中文了 and the Continuing-Action Pattern
Duration Complements in Mandarin (时量补语): How to Say How Long an Action Lasts
The Mandarin Durative 着 (zhe): Marking a State That Continues (门开着, 拿着书, 笑着说)
How to Say Even Though and Even If in Mandarin: 虽然, 即使, 就算 and 尽管
Mandarin Existential and Presentative Sentences: 有, 出现, 发生 and Why New Things Go After the Verb
Formal Mandarin Connectives: 然而, 因此, 于是 and 尽管 (The Written Register)
Mandarin Four-Character Idioms (四字格): The Shape, Not the List
Mandarin Greetings and Survival Phrases: Say Something Today
The Experiential 过 (guò) in Mandarin: Saying You Have Ever Done Something
Mandarin Intermediate Grammar (B1-B2 / HSK 4-5): Complements, Conjunctions and the Full 了 System
就 (jiù) vs 才 (cái) in Mandarin: Sooner Than Expected, Later Than Expected
The Two 了 in Mandarin: Completion 了 After the Verb vs Change-of-State 了 at the End
The Mandarin 连...都/也 Construction: How to Say 'Even', and Why the Word Has to Move
Mandarin Modal Verbs: 会, 想, 要, 应该, 可以, 能 and the Future-Intent Words 打算, 准备
Mandarin Negation: 不 (bù) vs 没 (méi), and Why 不有 Does Not Exist
Mandarin Numbers, Time, Dates, and Currency: From 1 to 1,000,000, the 二/两 Split, and Time-Before-Verb
The Spoken Passives 让 (ràng), 叫 (jiào) and 给 (gěi): What People Say Instead of 被
Mandarin Potential Complements: Can You Reach the Result? (吃得完, 听不懂, 买不起)
Mandarin Relative Clauses with 的 (de): How the Modifier Goes Before the Noun
Mandarin Requests and Imperatives: 请, 别, 不要, the Softening Particles 吧/啊, and Verb Reduplication
Mandarin Resultative Complements: Fusing a Result onto the Verb (看见, 吃完, 找到)
Mandarin Rhetorical Questions: 难道, 不是...吗, 何必 and 岂不
Mandarin Sentence-Final Particles: 吧, 呢, 啊, 嘛, 吗 and the Final 了
Serial Verb Constructions in Mandarin: 我去商店买东西 and Stacking Verbs in Sequence
The Mandarin 是…的 (shì...de) Construction: Highlighting When, Where, and How Something Happened
Chinese Internet Slang: The Words Textbooks Skip
The Mandarin 所 (suǒ) Family: 所有, 所谓, 所 + Verb, and the 为...所 Passive
Topic-Comment Structure in Mandarin: Fronting 这本书我看过 and Why Word Order Bends
Mandarin Verb-Object Verbs: Why 'To Eat' Is 吃饭 and How It Splits Apart
Mandarin Verb Reduplication: 看看, 看一看, 休息休息 and the 一下 Alternative
Mandarin Sentence Structure: Word Order, Topic-Comment and the 把 Construction
Mandarin 性 (xìng) and 化 (huà): Building Abstract Nouns and '-ise' Verbs
The Mandarin 以 (yǐ) Family: 以为, 以及, 以便, 以免, 以来 and 以...为...
又 (yòu) vs 再 (zài) vs 还 (hái) in Mandarin: The Three Ways to Say 'Again'
The Mandarin 于 (yú) Family: 对于, 关于, 由于, 至于, 属于, 位于, 终于
The Mandarin 者 (zhě) Suffix: 作者, 读者, 前者, and Naming the One Who Does It
Mandarin 之 (zhī): 之一, 之间, 之后, 之中, 总之 and the Written Ancestor of 的
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了: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "了" (aspect particle marking completion or a change of state): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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