了 transcribed le is a versatile character and one of the most frequent characters used in Mandarin Chinese. 了 transcribed le as an aspectual particle is used to indicate the completion of an action or a change of state. In this post, we will see how 了 is used to show that something has changed over time and also how it is used with an intensifier to express an excessive or impressive amount or degree of something.
What are modal particles?
All the modal particles are placed at the end of a sentence to indicate supplementary meanings, grammatical relations, or moods. In the series on Mandarin modal particles, we have discussed 吗 transcribed ma, 吧 transcribed ba, 啊 transcribed a, and 呢 transcribed ne.
Let’s have a quick review by looking at how these words are used in a dialogue. Here, two people are discussing dinner plans:
呢 transcribed ne softens the tones when presenting two alternatives.
吧 transcribed ba gives a suggestion in an imperative sentence.
哇 transcribed wa/啊 transcribed a expresses agreement.
吗 transcribed ma turns a statement into a yes/no question.
See below ↴
At the end of the dialogue, Bobby says "太好了!" This is a simple and very common expression meaning "great!" (or more literally, "too good!"). But what is the 了 transcribed le in this expression? What is it there for, and what does it do?
How to use 了(le) to indicate that something has changed state?
了 transcribed le is placed at the end of a sentence to indicate that something (a person, object, situation, relationship, anything) has changed to a new or different state over time. This amount of time might be long or short, and it can either be implied or stated. It might be that your nephew has grown up since you last saw him, or that dinner is ready now (whereas before it was not).
Here is the pattern:
| Example | Translation |
|---|---|
他长大了。 Tā zhǎng dà le. | He has grown bigger. |
我又累了 。 Wǒ yòu lèi le. | I’m tired again. |
你的汉语越来越好了。 Nǐde hànyǔ yuè lái yuè hǎo le. | Your Chinese is getting better and better. |
牛奶变馊了。 Niúnǎi biàn sōu le. | The milk has gone bad. |
晚饭做好了。 Wǎnfàn zuò hǎo le. | Dinner is ready. |
他现在是(校长)了。 Tā xiànzài shì xiàozhǎng le. | He has become the principal (now). / He is the principal now. |
我姐姐会开(车)了。 Wǒ jiějie huì kāichē le. | My older sister knows how to drive (now). |
How to use 了(le) to express an excessive amount or degree of something?
了 transcribed le is placed after an adjective and an intensifier (or an intensifier and an adjective) to indicate that something is too much:
There are four common intensifiers used in this type of sentence: 太 transcribed tài, 可 transcribed kě, 极 transcribed jí, and 死 transcribed sǐ, creating four variations on the sentence pattern. In two of them, 太 transcribed tài and 可 transcribed kě, the intensifier comes first and then the adjective. In the other two, 极 transcribed jí and 死 transcribed sǐ, the adjective comes first and the intensifier comes second. Notice that all four sentence types start with the subject (except when it’s implied) and end with 了 transcribed le, and in between there is the adjective (such as 漂亮 transcribed piàoliangmeaning beautiful) and the intensifier (such as 太 transcribed tàimeaning extremely). The Mandarin Chinese character 是 transcribed shìmeaning be is not used before the adjectives here.
| Variation | Sentence Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
(subject) + 太 transcribed tài + adj. + 了 transcribed le | (subject) + intensifier + adj. + 了 transcribed le | 这太好吃了！ Transcription: Zhè tài hǎochī le! Translation: (It is) So delicious! |
(subject) + 可 transcribed kě + adj. + 了 transcribed le | 我可饿了。 Transcription: Wǒ kě è le. Translation: I’m really hungry. | |
(subject) + adj. + 极 transcribed jí + 了 transcribed le | (subject) + adj. + intensifier + 了 transcribed le | 漂亮极了！ Transcription: Piàoliang jí le! Translation: (This is) Extraordinarily beautiful! |
(subject) + adj. + 死 transcribed sǐ + 了 transcribed le | (我)累死了。 Transcription: (Wǒ) lèi sǐ le. Translation: (I am) Extremely tired! |
Also notice that in addition to the notion of “too,” as in excessive, 了 transcribed le is also used to express the notion of “very,” as in “very tired.” This is like the word 很 transcribed hěnmeaning very, but moreso. If you are 很累 transcribed hěn lèi then you are very tired. If you are 累死了 transcribed lèi sǐ le, then you are extremely tired — literally tired to death.
Let’s look at more examples to see how these patterns work.
| Sentence pattern | Examples |
|---|---|
| subject + 太 transcribed tài + adj. + 了 transcribed le: | 你的房间太大了。 Transcription: Nǐ de fángjiān tài dà le. Translation: Your room is really spacious. |
我的头太疼了。 Transcription: Wǒ de tóu tài téng le. Translation: My head really hurts. | |
| subject + 可 transcribed kě + adj. + 了 transcribed le: | 中餐可好吃了。 Transcription: Zhōngcān kě hǎochī le. Translation: Chinese food is super delicious. |
你的英语可流利了。 Transcription: Nǐ de yīngyǔ kě liúlì le. Translation: Your English is really fluent. | |
| When the subject is implied and known, it may be omitted: | 太热了! Transcription: Tài rè le! Translation: It’s so hot! |
棒极了! Transcription: Bàng jí le! Translation: Wonderful! / Awesome! | |
可香了! Transcription: Kě xiāng le! Translation: Delicious! (It smells/tastes great!) | |
困死了! Transcription: Kùn sǐ le! Translation: I’m so incredibly sleepy. | |
| subject + adj. + 极 transcribed jí + 了 transcribed le: | 这只狗可爱极了。 Transcription: Zhè zhī gǒu keài jí le. Translation: This dog is so cute. |
这件夹克衫贵极了。 Transcription: Wǒ de tóu tài téng le. Translation: My head really hurts. | |
| subject + adj. + 死 transcribed sǐ + 了 transcribed le: | 我饿死了。 Transcription: Wǒ èisǐ le. Translation: I am so hungry. |
你的鞋臭死了。 Transcription: Nǐ de xié chòu sì le. Translation: Your shoes are really stinky. |
The patterns mentioned above can indicate sarcastic meanings. Check out these ones:
How to use 了(le) to indicate the passage of time?
了 transcribed le is used in the following pattern to show that a specified amount of time has passed and a condition either has or hasn’t changed.
How to use 了(le) to tell someone to stop doing something?
了 transcribed le is usually placed at the end of a negative imperative sentence to ask people to stop doing something. The negative word 别 transcribed biémeaning do not is used in the pattern.
Imagine your roommate likes to touch your stuff, and you tell him 别摸我的东西！ transcribed bié mō wǒde dōngximeaning Don't touch my stuff!. Despite your request, your roommate keeps touching your stuff. At this point, you should add 了 transcribed le in the end of the sentence and say 别摸我的东西了！ transcribed bié mō wǒde dōngxi lemeaning Stop touching my stuff!. This statement implies that the person you’re speaking to (your grabby roommate) has been touching your stuff a lot, and this habit needs to stop now. It needs to change. Hence, 了 at the end of the statement.
Let's look at some more examples:
| Stop doing something: 别 transcribed bié + verb + object + 了 transcribed le! | Don't do something: 别 transcribed bié + verb + object! |
|---|---|
别看电视了！去写作业。 Transcription: Bié kàn diànshì le, qù xiě zuòyè. Translation: Stop watching TV! Go and do (your) homework. | 吃晚饭前别看电视！ Transcription: Chī wǎnfàn qián bié kàn diànshì! Translation: Don’t watch TV before (having) dinner. |
别睡觉了！我们去吃饭吧！ Transcription: Bié shuì le, wǒmen qù chīfàn ba! Translation: Stop sleeping! Let’s go have something to eat! | 别睡觉！等我回来！ Transcription: Bié shuìjiào, děng wǒ huílái! Translation: Don’t go to bed! Wait until I get back! |
别玩了！快回家。 Transcription: Bié wán le, kuài huíjiā. Translation: Stop playing! Go home. | 别玩火！ Transcription: Bié wán hǒu! Translation: Don’t play with fire. |
How to use 了(le) to indicate “to be about to”?
了 transcribed le is used with (快 transcribed kuài/就 transcribed jiù) 要 transcribed yào ... 了 transcribed le (be about to) to indicate an action or a change of state of affairs is going to take place soon. Check out our post on this!
To sum up
了 transcribed le can be an aspectual particle, and it can also work as a modal particle, as we discussed in this post. 我们快来复习一下吧！ transcribed wǒmen kuài lái fùxí yíxià bameaning Let’s have a quick review!
| A change to a new state has happened: | 他变瘦了。 Transcription: Tā biàn shòu le. Translation: He has become thinner. 我现在是美国人了。 Transcription: Wǒ xiànzài shì měiguó rén le. Translation: I am an American now. |
|---|---|
| To indicate something is too much with intensifiers 太 transcribed tài, 可 transcribed kě, 极 transcribed jí, and 死 transcribed sǐ: | 我太高兴了！ Transcription: Wǒ tài gāoxìng le! Translation: I am so happy! 你可漂亮了！ Transcription: Nǐ kě piàoliang le! Translation: You are really pretty! 今天冷极了！ Transcription: Jīntiān lěng jí le! Translation: It's super cold today! 我饿死了！ Transcription: Wǒ è sǐ le! Translation: I am starving to death! |
| To indicate the passage of time: | 他住在这里已经十年了。 Transcription: Tā zhùzài zhèli yǐjīng shínián le. Translation: He has been living here for ten years already. |
| To stop doing something: | 别睡了，快起床吧！ Transcription: Bié shuì le, kuài qǐchuáng ba! Translation: Stop sleeping! Get up! |
Now we have discussed all the modal particles: 吗 transcribed ma, 吧 transcribed ba, 啊 transcribed a, 呢 transcribed ne, and 了 transcribed le! 恭喜呀！ transcribed gōngxǐ yameaning Congrats!
你准备好做练习题了吗？ transcribed nǐ zhǔnbèi hǎo zuò liànxí tí le mameaning Are you ready for some exercises?
来吧，你一定可以的！ transcribed láiba, nǐ yídìng kěyǐ demeaning Come on, you can make it!
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