了

le
Dictionary entry
(completed action marker)

What does 了 mean?

了 (le) has 4 dictionary entries or readings.

1(completed action marker)
2(modal particle indicating change of state, situation now)
3(modal particle intensifying preceding clause)
4to finish
5(used with 得[de2] or 不[bu4] after a verb to express (im)possibility, as in 忘不了[wang4 bu5 liao3] "cannot forget")
6(literary) (usually followed by a negative such as 無|无[wu2] or 不[bu4]) completely (not); entirely (not); (not) in the least
7variant of 瞭|了[liao3]
8(bound form) clear in one's mind; to understand clearly
9unofficial variant of 瞭[liao4]

Character breakdown

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Reviewed examples

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How to pronounce 了

了
le
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Base dictionary data: CC-CEDICT · CC BY-SA 4.0.