Kilo Lingo

(wán bì) - to be finished, to be completed, over in Mandarin

wán

Traditional: 完畢

#2245 of 5,000 Core 5000

Translation

to be finished, to be completed, over

Word origin

A compound of 完 (wán, to complete) and 毕 (bì, to conclude, to end), two synonyms doubled up for formal emphasis.

Origin
compound
Root
完 (wán, to complete) + 毕 (bì, to conclude)

Stroke order

Stroke order for 完

Stroke order for 毕

Examples

The meeting has finished.

Preparations are complete, we can set off.

qiān

Please sign once the inspection is finished.

All the work must be finished today.

End of report.

完毕 (wán bì) means finished, done, over. It is formal and mostly written: announcements, reports, procedures, radio traffic, the army. 报告完毕 is how a soldier ends a report, and 准备完毕 is the tannoy telling you the preparations are complete.

In everyday speech nobody says it. 吃饭完毕 for "I have finished eating" would be comic. Use 完了, 吃完了, 做完了, or 结束了 for an event. Keep 完毕 for the register that already sounds official.

Grammatically it follows the verb like a resultative, which is where beginners trip: 检查完毕 (inspection complete), not 完毕检查. It can also stand alone as a full predicate after a noun, as in 会议完毕. 毕 is the same character as in 毕业 (to graduate), literally to finish one's studies, which is the friendlier place most learners meet it first.

Where this fits

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Mandarin · Free printables

完毕: worksheet, infographic and listicle

Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "完毕" (to be finished, to be completed, over): 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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This word is part of lesson 45.