Chinese word

了

Pronunciation

Pinyinle

Meaning

  • particlealready

Example

我吃了饭。wǒ chī le fàn

I already ate a meal.

Illustration for 了 (already)

More examples

他去了学校。tā qù le xué xiào

He went to school.

Core concept

Signals a boundary in a situation: an action is now complete, or the situation has crossed into a new state.

Common phrases

  • 吃了饭chī le fàn

    ate a meal

  • 看了书kàn le shū

    read a book

  • 去了学校qù le xué xiào

    went to school

Similar words

的de: Connects something with its owner or identifies its kind.
过guò: Indicates that something has happened before as an experience.
着zhe: Indicates an action or state that remains in progress.

Definition in Chinese

用作语气助词或动态助词，标示动作完结或新情况的出现，但不必然等同于过去时，需依语境解释。yòng zuò yǔ qì zhù cí huò dòng tài zhù cí biāo shì dòng zuò wán jié huò xīn qíng kuàng de chū xiàn dàn bú bì rán děng tóng yú guò qù shí xū yī yǔ jìng jiě shì

Word origin

The particle grew out of an older verb meaning "finish" and gradually became a grammar marker for completion and change.

Usage tips

  • At the end of a sentence, this particle often highlights a new situation, so it can mean that something has newly become true rather than that an earlier action occurred.

Other meanings

  • be doneverb

Word lists with this word