Character

了

le HSK 3

liǎo HSK 3

了 le HSK 3

1. particle after a verb or adjective indicating completion of an action or change; ① for actions that have actually occurred; ② for anticipated or hypothetical actions
2. particle at the end of a sentence or mid-sentence pause indicating a change or new situation; ① a situation that has or will occur; ② a situation arising under a certain condition; ③ a change in understanding, idea, plan, or action
3. particle at the end of a sentence or mid-sentence pause expressing urging, dissuasion, command, or exclamation
4. modal particle at the end of an exclamatory sentence expressing exclamation
5. modal particle used in enumeration indicating an inexhaustive list

Words using 了 as le (5)

1 为了 wèi le — in order to, for the sake of HSK 3
- 为 for, to do (indicates purpose or beneficiary)
- 了 grammatical particle combining with 为 to form purpose marker
Example

为了学好中文，我每天都练习。

wèi le xué hǎo zhōng wén wǒ měi tiān dōu liàn xí

In order to learn Chinese well, I practice every day.
2 除了 chú le — except (for); besides HSK 3
- 除 to remove, to exclude
- 了 particle that completes the preposition
Example

除了中文，我还会说英语。

chú le Zhōng wén wǒ hái huì shuō Yīng yǔ

Besides Chinese, I can also speak English.
3 得了 dé le — all right; okay; that's enough HSK 6
- 得 forms part of the modal particle expressing 'enough/okay'
- 了 completes the modal particle expressing 'enough/okay'
Example

得了，不要再争了。

dé le bú yào zài zhēng le

That's enough, stop arguing.
4 算了 suàn le — forget it HSK 6
- 算 to consider, to count (implies stopping consideration)
- 了 particle indicating completion or change of state
Example

算了，我不想去了。

suàn le wǒ bù xiǎng qù le

Forget it, I don't want to go anymore.
5 罢了 bà le — that's all; nothing more; merely HSK 7
- 罢 stop; cease (contributes sense of conclusion)
- 了 completion particle (reinforces finality)
Example

我只是开个玩笑罢了。

wǒ zhǐ shì kāi ge wán xiào bà le

I was just joking, that's all.

了 liǎo HSK 3

1. to finish; to end
2. used after a verb with '不' or '得' to indicate impossibility or possibility
3. (lit.) completely (used in negative constructions)
4. a surname
5. to understand; to comprehend

Words using 了 as liǎo (11)

Structure & writing

了 liǎo — to finish; to end

Xpinyin

了 is a component in 3 characters

HSK 1

子 zǐ child (son or daughter in ancient usage); now specifically son

HSK 5

疗 liáo to treat (illness) with medicine, surgery, etc.

HSK 7

辽 liáo distant; far

了 is an atomic character — it does not decompose further.

Stroke order