了

le

Pinyin
le
Pinyin (Plain)
le
Strokes
2
Radical
亅
Readings
lele(completed action marker); (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now); (modal particle intensifying preceding clause)Order: 0Primary
liao3liaoTone: 3to finish; (used with 得[de2] or 不[bu4] after a verb to express (im)possibility, as in 忘不了[wang4 bu5 liao3] "cannot forget"); (literary) (usually followed by a negative such as 無|无[wu2] or 不[bu4]) completely (not); entirely (not); (not) in the least; to understand clearly (variant of 瞭|了[liao3])Order: 1
liao3liaoTone: 3(of eyes) bright; clear-sighted; to understand clearlyOrder: 2
liao4liaoTone: 4unofficial variant of 瞭[liao4]Order: 3
Stroke Order Code
Speed
Stroke Order Data
["M 526 549 Q 569 571 661 633 Q 704 664 732 669 Q 778 679 784 698 Q 787 708 749 753 Q 716 793 703 793 Q 336 721 301 716 Q 265 715 244 719 Q 225 723 216 711 Q 212 702 222 690 Q 232 675 260 657 Q 284 638 295 639 Q 305 638 328 653 Q 391 698 626 741 Q 671 750 677 746 Q 681 745 680 739 Q 679 729 522 577 Q 512 570 506 563 C 484 543 500 535 526 549 Z", "M 506 563 Q 475 585 461 588 Q 448 591 448 567 Q 449 549 471 533 Q 513 497 525 417 Q 544 180 506 126 Q 505 126 505 124 Q 493 114 469 123 Q 430 130 383 141 Q 364 148 363 140 Q 363 137 456 50 Q 480 28 496 -3 Q 506 -13 518 -8 Q 534 -1 563 42 Q 614 127 585 436 Q 581 464 577 485 Q 568 528 526 549 L 506 563 Z"]
Meaning
了 is a very common particle that often shows a completed action or change of state, similar to “have/has done” or “became” in English. It can also appear at the end of a sentence to soften the tone or emphasize a new situation (“now…”, “already…”).
Metadata
Locale: en
Cached At: 3/24/2026, 1:57:26 PM

Usage

了 is one of the first and most common characters learners meet because it often marks a **change of situation or completion**. Placed at the end of a sentence (sentence-final 了), it shows that something is now different from before or that a new situation has arisen: 下雨了 “It’s raining (now)” or 我不住在北京了 “I don’t live in Beijing anymore.” In these cases, 了 doesn’t just mean “past”; it highlights a *new state* compared to what used to be true. 了 is also frequently seen after verbs (verb-complement 了) to show that an action is **completed or achieved**, often similar to English “have done” or a simple past: 我吃了饭 “I ate / I have eaten,” 他买了三本书 “He bought three books.” It can combine with time words and numbers to show the amount or duration of completed actions: 我学了两年汉语 “I studied Chinese for two years.” Many beginner patterns drill these two core uses—sentence-final 了 for change of state, and post-verb 了 for completed actions—since they cover the vast majority of everyday appearances of 了.

Handwriting Notes

了 is a very common, visually simple character that still looks quite different in handwriting than in printed fonts. In print, it usually appears with a short horizontal stroke at the top, a vertical hook dropping down slightly to the left, and a curved stroke that sweeps down to the right. In handwriting, however, people often connect these parts smoothly so that the top and middle feel like one fluid motion, and the lower curve can be more open or tighter depending on the writer’s style. The overall shape may lean slightly, the lower curve might be longer or shorter, and the hook can be very subtle, but the character still keeps a compact, slightly “falling” look with one top element and one sweeping lower element. Because everyone’s strokes, angles, and proportions differ, AI handwriting recognition systems are trained on many handwritten variants of 了 so they can correctly recognize it even when the strokes are joined, slanted, or written quickly.

Description

**了 (le / liǎo)** is a very common Chinese character. As a particle **le**, it often marks a completed action or a change of state (e.g., 他走了 “He has left”). As a verb or complement **liǎo**, it can mean “to finish” or “to manage (to do something),” as in 了解 (“to understand”) or 受不了 (“can’t stand it”).

Common Words

  • 了解liǎojiěto understand; to know about
  • 了不起liǎobuqǐamazing; terrific; impressive
  • 了解情况liǎojiě qíngkuàngto understand the situation
  • 明了míngliǎoclear; obvious; to understand clearly
  • 不了了之bùliǎo liǎo zhīto end up with no clear resolution; to leave unsettled
  • 了结liǎojiéto settle; to conclude (a matter)
  • 完了wánlefinished; ruined; all over
  • 好了hǎoleokay; all right; (illness) cured
  • 完不了wán bùliǎocannot be finished; will not be over
  • 受不了了shòu bùliǎo lecannot stand it (any longer)
  • 走了zǒu leleft; has gone
  • 来了lái lecame; has come
  • 起了qǐ legot up; has risen
  • 走不了zǒu bùliǎocannot leave; unable to go
  • 没了méi legone; no more; disappeared
  • 完事了wánshì leit’s done; everything is finished
  • 闪了shǎn leslipped away; sprained (e.g., back/waist)
  • 醉了zuì ledrunk; (internet slang) speechless/amazed
  • 开不了kāi bùliǎocannot open; unable to start (e.g., a meeting, machine)
  • 看不了kàn bùliǎocannot watch; cannot bear to look at
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