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了

Character

了 le · liǎo · liào

HSK 1Character3 readings

Shows that an action is finished or complete.

Radical
亅
Strokes
2
Structure
Top–bottom
Parts
乛 亅
Traditional
了
Frequency
#3 most common character
Practice writing

Readings and meanings

leMain readingliǎoReading 2 · HSK 3liàoRare reading

le

le5Main readingHSK 1
  1. Shows that an action is finished or complete.
  2. Shows that something has changed or a new situation has started.
  3. Ends a sentence to make a feeling or opinion stronger.

Examples

  • 我吃了早饭。

    wǒ chī le zǎo fàn

    I ate breakfast.

    AI-generated sentence

  • 下雨了，我们回家吧。

    xià yǔ le wǒ men huí jiā ba

    It's raining, let's go home.

    AI-generated sentence

  • 这个太好了！

    zhè ge tài hǎo le

    This is so good!

    AI-generated sentence

Words that use “了” as le

为了wèi lein order toWordHSK 3极了jí leextremelyWordHSK 3除了chú leexcept forWordHSK 3完了wán leoverWordHSK 5得了dé leThat's enough! Stop it!WordHSK 5+1 reading算了suàn lenever mindWordHSK 6罢了bà lea word at the end of a sentence meaning 'that's all' or 'only'WordHSK 6+1 reading吹了chuī lebroke upWordHSK 7–9

liǎo

liao3Reading 2HSK 3

HSK 3 is the level of this reading in the official HSK 3.0 word list; other readings of 了 can sit at a different level.

  1. to finish; to end something
  2. with 得 or 不 after a verb, shows if something can be done

Examples

  • 我忘不了这件事。

    wǒ wàng bu liǎo zhè jiàn shì

    I can't forget this thing.

    AI-generated sentence

  • 我吃不了这么多饭。

    wǒ chī bu liǎo zhè me duō fàn

    I can't eat so much rice.

    AI-generated sentence

  • 这件事还没了。

    zhè jiàn shì hái méi liǎo

    This matter is not yet finished.

    AI-generated sentence

Words that use “了” as liǎo

了解liǎo jiěto understand something or someone wellWordHSK 4了不起liǎo bu qǐamazingWordHSK 4受不了shòu bù liǎocannot stand something because it is too much or too badWordHSK 4得了dé leThat's enough! Stop it!WordHSK 5+1 reading不得了bù dé liǎoterribleWordHSK 5罢了bà lea word at the end of a sentence meaning 'that's all' or 'only'WordHSK 6+1 reading了却liǎo quèto finish or settle somethingWordHSK 7–9了结liǎo jiéto settle or finish something, often a problem or unfinished…WordHSK 7–9

liào

liao4Reading 3Rare reading

This reading is uncommon in everyday Chinese; the main reading is le.

  1. unofficial variant of 瞭 (liào) CC-CEDICT

Stroke order

All 2 strokes

Speed

Practice writing 了

Draw “了” here — the faint guide shows its shape.

See all 155 words with 了 →

Same radical 亅

All characters with 亅 →
事shì争zhēng予yǔ亅jué
字Chinesekit
Dictionary data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA) · Stroke data: Make Me a Hanzi
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