Your Essential Guide to the Chinese Particle 了
Learning Chinese as an English speaker comes with many unique challenges: vocabulary, syntax, and tense to name a few. The auxiliary particle 了(le) is a common point of confusion for non-native Chinese students because it can serve a few different purposes in Chinese grammar. It can be difficult to grasp both when it should be included and where it should be positioned in a sentence.
Take a look at this example: 我去了公司了。 You can see that 了 appears twice, but do you know why it’s repeated here? And would you be able to translate this sentence accurately?
By the end of reading this article, you’ll not only be able to answer these two questions but also have a solid understanding of three basic uses of 了 in Chinese grammar.
1. Verb + 了
When placed directly after a verb, 了 indicates the completion of an action.
Let’s review some examples:
我去看了那部电影。(Wǒ qù kàn le nà bù diànyǐnɡ.)
I have seen that movie.
他买了一部新手机。(Tā mǎi le yí bù xīn shǒujī.)
He bought a new cell phone.
This structure can also be used to talk about actions that will be completed in the future.
我明天下了课就去找你。(Wǒ míngtiān xiàle kè jiù qù zhǎo nǐ.)
I’ll see you after class tomorrow.
我洗了澡就睡觉。(Wǒ xǐle zǎo jiù shuìjiào.)
I’ll go to sleep after taking a shower.
For the negative form of this structure, you actually need to remove 了 entirely, and instead place 没有/没 (méiyǒu/méi) before the verb.
E.g.
他没有去公园。(Tā méiyǒu qù ɡōnɡyuán.)
He did not go to the park.
妹妹没买那条裙子。(Mèimei méi mǎi nà tiáo qúnzi.)
My little sister didn’t buy that skirt.
2. Sentence + 了
When placed at the end of a sentence, 了 functions as a modal particle. This can mean a few different things depending on the context:
- It can confirm something that was previously unclear
- It can indicate that something new has appeared
- It can point out that something has changed (in this case, there will usually be a time word to indicate when the change took place, but if not, then it will indicate that the change only just happened)
This usage may be a little bit harder to grasp than our last point, so let’s look at some examples to make things more concrete:
周末他去逛街了。(Zhōumò tā qù ɡuànɡjiē le.)
He went shopping this weekend.
(Confirms that he did, in fact, go shopping on the weekend)
我刚刚发现我的电脑被偷了。(Wǒ ɡānɡɡānɡ fāxiàn wǒde diànnǎo bèi tōu le.)
I just discovered that my computer has been stolen.
(Indicates a sudden change and new information)
上课了,上课了。(Shànɡkè le,shànɡkè le.)
The class has begun, the class has begun.
(Indicates that class has changed from not in session to in session)
下雪了。(Xiàxuě le.)
It’s snowy.
(Points out a change of weather. It wasn’t snowy before, but now it is.)
五点了。(Wǔdiǎn le.)
It’s 5 o’clock.
(Denotes the change of time)
今天天晴了。(Jīntiān tiānqínɡ le.)
It’s sunny today.
(Indicates a change of weather. It wasn’t sunny before, but now it is.)
The negative form of this structure is exactly the same as the last one, simply remove 了 and add either 没有 or 没。
上课了。→没上课。((Shànɡkè le → Méi shànɡkè)
The class has begun. → Class hasn’t begun.
昨天我的自行车坏了。→昨天我的自行车没坏。
(Zuótiān wǒde zìxínɡchē huàile. → Zuótiān wǒde zìxínɡchē méi huài.)
My bike broke yesterday.→ My bike did not break yesterday.
—你吃饭了吗?(Nǐ chīfàn le mɑ?) Did you eat already/Have you eaten?
—没吃。(Méichī.) I did not eat yet/I haven’t eaten yet.
3. Using 了 twice in one sentence
These two use cases can be combined, and the result is a sentence that includes 了twice. These sentences indicate both that an action has been completed and that some change has occurred.
Let’s analyze a few examples:
他去了医院了。(Tā qù le yīyuàn le.)
He has gone to the hospital.
In this case, we’re emphasizing that he has already arrived at the hospital and that his state has changed because he is now a patient.
我唱了一首歌了。(Wǒ chànɡ le yìshǒu ɡē le.)
I sang a song.
For this example, the use of 了 tells us that the speaker was not singing before, began singing, and has already finished singing the song.
Just like the other two structures, you can create the negative form by omitting both 了 characters and adding 没有/没. Keep in mind that you don’t need to add 没有/没 twice, even if 了 was used twice in the original sentence.
He didn’t go to the hospital.
他没去没医院。(Tā méiqù méi yīyuàn.) (×)
他没去医院。(Tā méiqù yīyuàn.) (√)
Another thing to pay attention to is numbers. If there was a number included in the original sentence, you also need to remove it in the negative form.
I haven’t sung.
我没唱一首歌。(Wǒ méi chànɡ yìshǒu ɡē.) (×)
我没唱歌。(Wǒ méi chànɡɡē.) (√)
Further Notes
1. If the sentence contains a frequency word,, such as 每天(měitiān), 经常(jīnɡchánɡ), 常常(chánɡchánɡ), or 总是(zǒnɡshì), there is no need to use 了.
E.g.
我常常去图书馆看书。(Wǒ chánɡchánɡ qù túshūɡuǎn kànshū.)
I often go to the library to read.
2. Verbs that indicate mental activities like 想(xiǎnɡ), 要(yào), 打算(dǎsuɑn), 希望(xīwànɡ), 喜欢(xǐhuɑn), and 讨厌(tǎoyàn) cannot be followed by 了.
E.g.
我打算去云南旅游。(Wǒ dǎsuɑn qù Yúnnán lǚyóu.) (√)
I plan to travel to Yunnan.
我打算去了云南旅游。(Wǒ dǎsuɑn qùle Yúnnán lǚyóu.) (×)
3. To emphasize the continuity or compactness of an ongoing action, it’s common to leave out 了.
E.g.
我起床穿好衣服打开门,走了出去。
(Wǒ qǐchuánɡ chuān hǎo yīfu dǎkāi mén,zǒu le chūqu.)
I got up and put on my clothes, then opened the door and walked out.
4. 了 can also be omitted if the speaker wants to emphasize certain adverbs
E.g.
前天吃面,昨天吃面,今天我不想吃面。
(Qiántiān chīmiàn,zuótiān chīmiàn,jīntiān wǒ bùxiǎnɡ chīmiàn.)
I don’t want to eat noodles today because I had them yesterday and the day before that.
5. If a sentence contains a modal verb before the main verb, 了 can only be added at the end of the sentence.
E.g.
我能说汉语。(Wǒ nénɡ shuō hànyǔ.)I can speak Chinese. (√)
*我能说了汉语。(Wǒ nénɡ shuō le hànyǔ.)(×)
我能说汉语了。((Wǒ nénɡ shuō hànyǔ le.)I can speak Chinese. (√)
6. If the sentence contains a repeated monosyllabic verb, 了 should be placed between the repeated verbs.
E.g.
我闻了闻这盒牛奶。(Wǒ wén le wén zhè hé niúnǎi.)
I smelled this carton of milk.
他想了想我的话。(Tā xiǎnɡ le xiǎnɡ wǒde huà.)
He thought about my words.
Conclusion
In conclusion, 了 (le) is a common grammar particle used in Mandarin Chinese to indicate the completion of actions or a change of state. Its position in a sentence can also impact its meaning. This is often one of the grammar points that students struggle with the most because it does not have a direct English equivalent.
Being able to use this word correctly unlocks a whole new level of nuance in your speech and brings you one step closer to eventual fluency.
A lot of incomplete information…
“incomplete information”….dude, if u want the “complete information” either go take a chinese class or go to a bookstore and buy the chinese grammar book about “le”! Srsly, what do u expect more?!?! its already a great overview! if u dont believe so, ur poor brain is already obvious. Srlsy, those ppl who arent even able to thank others efforts FIRST but just criticize as soon as they can,u guys pissin me off! go fk off and fk urself dude! 你们别听他的话,又只是废话而已!非常感谢你们这个 了 的介绍!对正在学了语法的 同学一定会有很大的帮助!可以这个样子下去啦,加油!
You know the author can read English right?
“我去了公司 了"
It’s not been explained clearly although this article is written for clear it in unnative’s brains. For me I can not distinguish the meaning : I am still going (on my way) to the company. / or I arrived at the company and didnot leave it.???!!
Hi, “我去了公司了”, “了” in “去了” stresses “去” this action has finished, “了” after the whole sentence focuses on “我去了公司” this whole thing has occurred. So this situation would happen when you actually has gone to the company but has leaved there, in another word, the timing when you said this sentence you’re not in the company.
→I am still going (on my way) to the company. We prefer to say “我还在去公司的路上”, “be going“ indicates the action hasn’t finished, so we don’t use “了”.
hello why is there “le” in the end of 你几岁了? is “le” used as a set phrase for 岁了 which means years old? hehe just wanted to confirm because I am confused maybe it’s wrong in how I understand it. Thank you so much.
Hi, “你几岁了” this sentence, “几” a pronoun means “how many”, “岁” a noun means “year”. ”几岁” together as a regular collocation indicates “how old”(<10). “了” here at the end of the sentence indicates a change. And of course, we can also directly say “你几岁” which is correct grammatically and semantically.