Stroke order
Stroke order
了 Kangxi radical 6,亅 +1, 2 strokes,cangjie input 弓弓 (NN ),four-corner 17207 ,composition ⿱乛 亅 or⿱乛 ㇁ )
𡤼 ,𠆨 ,𠖭 ,𠮩 ,𢆳 ,𢩪 ,𣱾 ,𭨥 ,𣎸 ,𣬝 ,辽 ,𤽀 ,𭾙 ,䄦 ,𪜜 ,𥾇 ,𬚊 ,䑠 ,𧘈 ,𧾿 ,𪞠 ,釕 (钌 ),𫘵 ,𩵌 ,𩾒 (𬷽 ),𪌀 ,𬼷 ,𭣡 ,𬻺 ,𪟽 ,㝋 ,𭙏 ,𦫼 ,疗 ,𥤣 ,亨 ,爳 ,𬼶 ,𠙶 ,叾 ,𬼹 ,𰁒 ,𠄏 Kangxi Dictionary:page 85 , character 11 Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 226 Dae Jaweon: page 173, character 20 Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 48, character 6 Unihan data for U+4E86 Historical forms of the character了 Shuowen Jiezi Han )Small seal script s10990
Transcribed ancient scripts
L16444
L16445
L16446
L16447
L16448
L16449
L16450
References :
Mostly from Richard Sears'Chinese Etymology site (authorisation ),
Shuowen Jiezi (small seal),Jinwen Bian (bronze inscriptions),Liushutong (Liushutong characters) andYinxu Jiaguwen Bian (oracle bone script).
Old Chinese 釕 *teːwʔ 了 *reːwʔ
According to theShuowen Jiezi , a pictogram (象形 子 了 as "the crossing of lower legs".
In theShuowen Jiezi Zhu , a commentary to the Shuowen Jiezi, it is said that the pictogram instead depicts entangled legs (了戾
Its relation with the meaning "to finish" is likely via sound loan, but an argument can be made about "entangled legs" → "tie"→ "finish".
Unrelated to亨 .
Verb “to finish; to be completed” >perfective aspect particle (了₁ , weakened form) >change-of-state modal particle (了₂ ). It eventually replaced classical矣 OC *ɢlɯʔ
Two kinds of particle uses of了 can be distinguished: the perfective aspect particle after verbs (conventionally written as了₁ ) and the sentence-final modal particle (了₂ ). It is generally accepted (Wu, 1998 ) that these two uses of了 are derived from the concrete verb “to finish”. The grammaticalisation of this verb had become common in theTang Dynasty, initially in the form of ‹verb + (object) +perfective 了 › to indicate the completion of an action.
The perfective particle subsequently underwent further grammaticalisation to become the sentence-final change-of-state modal particle;Liu (1985) has demonstrated that this last step may have involved the coalescence of sentence-final了 with也 了₁ and了₂ are distinct in these dialects, with了₂ rhyming with也 .
Contrary to the suggestion inSchuessler (2007) , this word is not related toVietnamese rồi Thai แล้ว ( lɛ́ɛo ,“ to be finished; already; then, afterwards ” ) ,Lao ແລ້ວ ( lǣu ,“ to finish; to be completed;perfective particle ” ) are loans from Chinese.
Mandarin (Standard (Pinyin :le ,liǎo ,lou (le5 ／ le0 ,liao3 ,lou5 ／ lou0 )(Zhuyin :˙ㄌㄜ, ㄌㄧㄠˇ, ˙ㄌㄡ (Chengdu ,Sichuanese Pinyin :no2 / no3 (Xi'an ,Guanzhong Pinyin :liao (Dungan ,Cyrillic andWiktionary :ли (li, 0)Cantonese (Jyutping :liu5 Gan (Wiktionary :lieu Hakka (Sixian ,PFS :lé (Meixian ,Guangdong :ê2 Northern Min (KCR :làu Eastern Min (BUC :lāu Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing lieo3 Southern Min (Hokkien ,POJ :liáu (Teochew ,Peng'im :liao2 Wu (Shanghai Wugniu :8 leq;0 leqNote : liǎo - in poetry, songs or Malaysian Mandarin.
了
Used after a verb to indicateperfective aspect (action completion). 我 吃 了 一 個 蘋果 。[MSC ,trad. 我 吃 了 一 个 苹果 。[MSC ,simp. Wǒ chīle yī ge píngguǒ. [Pinyin] Iate an apple. / I have eaten an apple. 他 在 北京 住 了 兩 年 。[MSC ,trad. 他 在 北京 住 了 两 年 。[MSC ,simp. Tā zài Běijīng zhùle liǎng nián. [Pinyin] He lived in Beijing for two years. Used at the end of a sentence to indicate a change of state. 他 是 大學生 了 。／ 他 是 大学生 了 。Tā shì dàxuéshēngle . has become a college student / He is a college studentnow .Used at the end of a sentence to inform the beginning of an action. 我 走 了 。Wǒ zǒule . Used at the end of a sentence to demand. 起床 了 ！Qǐchuángle ! 別 嚎 了 ！／ 别 嚎 了 ！Bié háole ! ( contemporary Shanghainese ) Used to indicate the present tense. Dialectal synonyms of
了 (“(perfective particle)”)
[map] Variety Location Words Classical Chinese 矣1 Formal(Written Standard Chinese ) 了 Northeastern Mandarin Beijing 了 Taiwan 了 Harbin 了 Malaysia 了 Singapore 了 Jilu Mandarin Jinan 了 Jiaoliao Mandarin Yantai(Muping) 了 Central Plains Mandarin Luoyang 了 Wanrong 嘮 Xi'an 咧 Xuzhou 了 Lanyin Mandarin Yinchuan 了 Ürümqi 咧 Southwestern Mandarin Chengdu 了 Wuhan 了 Guiyang 了 Guilin 了 Liuzhou 了 Jianghuai Mandarin Nanjing 了 Yangzhou 了 Cantonese Guangzhou 咗 嘵 obsolete Hong Kong 咗 Hong Kong(San Tin; Weitou) 咗 Hong Kong(Kam Tin; Weitou) 咗 Hong Kong(Ting Kok) 耗 Hong Kong(Tung Ping Chau) 好 Macau 咗 敲 Guangzhou(Panyu) 咗 Guangzhou(Huashan, Huadu) 咗 Guangzhou(Conghua) 咗 Guangzhou(Zengcheng) 誒 呵 Foshan 咗 Foshan(Sanshui) 咗 Foshan(Mingcheng, Gaoming) 咗 Zhongshan(Shiqi) 哺 Zhuhai(Qianshan, Xiangzhou) 咗 Jiangmen(Xinhui) 誒 咗 Taishan 誒 Kaiping(Chikan) 誒 Enping(Niujiang) 誒 Dongguan 敲 Shenzhen(Shajing, Bao'an) 好 Shenzhen(Dapeng) 後 咗 Qingyuan 咗 Fogang 咗 Yingde(Hanguang) 咗 Shaoguan 咗 Shaoguan(Qujiang) 咗 Renhua 咗 Lechang 咗 Zhaoqing(Gaoyao) 咗 Xinxing 標 Luoding 咗 Yangjiang 都 Nanning 嗮 Nanning(Tanka) 嗮 Wuzhou 啊 Hepu(Lianzhou) 了 Guiping 畢 Guiping(Mule) 開 了 Pingnan 開 Guigang(Gangcheng) 開 Guigang(Pingdong) 開 了 Beihai 了 Beihai(Nankang) 了 Beihai(Yingpan) 了 Beihai(Qiaogang - Cô Tô) 了 咗 Beihai(Qiaogang - Cát Bà) 咗 Fangchenggang(Fangcheng) 了 咗 Kuala Lumpur(Guangfu) 咗 Ipoh(Guangfu) 咗 Singapore(Guangfu) 咗 Ho Chi Minh City(Guangfu) 咗 Móng Cái 了 咗 Gan Nanchang 了 Lichuan 了 Hakka Meixian 了 Huizhou(Huicheng; Bendihua) 拋 阿 Dongguan(Qingxi) 開 Shenzhen(Shatoujiao) 開 Zhongshan(Nanlang Heshui) 開 Wuhua(Shuizhai) 哩 Wuhua(Huacheng) 哩 Wuhua(Changbu) 哩 Wuhua(Mianyang) 哩 Yudu 了 Hong Kong 開 Senai(Huiyang) 開 Kuching(Hepo) 了 Huizhou Jixi 了 Jin Taiyuan 咾 Xinzhou 咾 Jiuxing Yumin Lanxi 了 Northern Min Jian'ou 了 Eastern Min Fuzhou 了 𡅏 Southern Min Penang(Hokkien) 了 Singapore(Hokkien) 了 Manila(Hokkien) 囉 Chaozhou 了 Shantou 了 Johor Bahru(Teochew) 了 Southern Pinghua Nanning(Tingzi) 了 Wu Shanghai 仔 了 Shanghai(Chongming) 仔 Suzhou 仔 Hangzhou 得 了 Hangzhou(Yuhang) 得 了 Ningbo 仔 Wenzhou 爻 Jinhua 了
( perfective aspect particle ) : Most of the time,了 is translated by apast tense . But it can also indicate that one action is completed before another.你 吃 了 以後 叫 我 。[MSC ,trad. 你 吃 了 以后 叫 我 。[MSC ,simp. Nǐ chīle yǐhòu jiào wǒ. [Pinyin] Call me when you are done eating. ( change of state particle ) : When used as thechange of state particle ,了 can be translated by “now ”, “already ” or “notanymore ”.我 會 說 中文 了 。／ 我 会 说 中文 了 。Wǒ huì shuō zhōngwénle . now . (I couldn't before.)我 喝醉 了 。Wǒ hēzuìle . 沒有 紙 了 。／ 没有 纸 了 。Méiyǒu zhǐle . anymore .In a question,了 is put before the particle嗎 ／ 吗 ma ( Northern Wu ) : InShanghainese , this term is primarily used to indicate the presenttense and secondarily the perfectiveaspect . The present tense sense is derived from Old Shanghainese哉 脫了#Usage notes .( Malaysian Mandarin, Singaporean Mandarin ) :了 le 了 liǎo 你 打掃 了 再 幫 我 煮飯 。[Malaysian Mandarin ,trad. 你 打扫 了 再 帮 我 煮饭 。[Malaysian Mandarin ,simp. Nǐ dǎsǎoliǎo zài bāng wǒ zhǔfàn. [Pinyin] Help me cook after you're done cleaning up. → English:already liao ( Singapore English ) ( semantic loan ) Mandarin (Standard (Pinyin :liǎo (liao3 )(Zhuyin :ㄌㄧㄠˇ (Chengdu ,Sichuanese Pinyin :niao3 Cantonese (Guangzhou –Hong Kong ,Jyutping :liu5 (Taishan ,Wiktionary :liau2 Gan (Wiktionary :lieu3 Hakka (Sixian ,PFS :liáu (Hailu ,HRS :liauˊ (Meixian ,Guangdong :liau3 Jin (Wiktionary :liau2 Eastern Min (BUC :liēu Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing lieo3 Southern Min (Hokkien ,POJ :liáu (Teochew ,Peng'im :liou2 / liao2 Wu (Shanghai Wugniu :6 liauXiang (Changsha ,Wiktionary :liau3 Zhengzhang system (2003)Character 了 Reading # 1/1 No. 8067 Phonetic 了 Rime 宵 Rime 2 Corresponding 了 Old /*reːwʔ/
了
to befinished ; to becompleted toend ; tofinish 終於 了 了一 樁 心事 [MSC ,trad. 终于 了 了一 桩 心事 [MSC ,simp. zhōngyúliǎo le yī zhuāng xīnshì [Pinyin] At last, the problem wassolve d. 快啲 了 咗 件 事 佢 算 [Cantonese ,trad. simp. faai3 di1 liu5 zo2 gin6 si6 keoi5 syun3 [Jyutping] At last, the problem wassolve d. tounderstand ; tocomprehend 了 解liǎo jiěunderstand ; torealize clear ;plain ;understandable bright ;intelligent ;smart ( in negative sentences ) completely ;utterly ;entirely Used with不 bù 得 de ( Hokkien ) use up ; tolose ; towaste ; tosquander Dialectal synonyms of
浪費 (“to waste; to squander”)
[map] Variety Location Words Classical Chinese 靡 Formal(Written Standard Chinese ) 浪費 靡費 Northeastern Mandarin Beijing 糟蹋 糟踐 Taiwan 浪費 糟蹋 Harbin 糟踐 Singapore 浪費 Jilu Mandarin Jinan 糟蹋 糟踐 Central Plains Mandarin Xi'an 糟蹋 Southwestern Mandarin Chengdu 糟蹋 拋撒 Wuhan 糟蹋 拋撒 Jianghuai Mandarin Yangzhou 作蹋 Hefei 糟蹋 Cantonese Guangzhou 嘥 嘥撻 Hong Kong 嘥 Taishan 嘥 Kaiping(Chikan) 嘥 Dongguan 嘥 Yangjiang 嘥 Singapore(Guangfu) 嘥 Gan Nanchang 糟蹋 Hakka Meixian 浪撇 Miaoli(N. Sixian) 打爽 Pingtung(Neipu; S. Sixian) 打爽 浪核 Hsinchu County(Zhudong; Hailu) 打爽 Taichung(Dongshi; Dabu) 打爽 Hsinchu County(Qionglin; Raoping) 打爽 Yunlin(Lunbei; Zhao'an) 打爽 Jin Taiyuan 糟蹋 Northern Min Jian'ou 糟蹋 Eastern Min Fuzhou 敗 作蹋 Southern Min Xiamen 拍損 仄挩 Quanzhou 拍損 仄挩 Zhangzhou 拍損 Tainan 拍損 仄挩 Penang(Hokkien) 損 Singapore(Hokkien) 拍損 了 Manila(Hokkien) 仄挩 了 Chaozhou 噠浪 Jieyang 噠浪 Singapore(Teochew) 拍損 Wu Suzhou 糟蹋 Wenzhou 糟 殘嘈 Xiang Changsha 糟蹋 Shuangfeng 糟蹋
For pronunciation and definitions of 了 – see尞 ancient offering involvingburning wood ; etc.”). This character is the second-round simplified form of 尞 Notes:
For pronunciation and definitions of 了 – see潦 This character is the second-round simplified form of 潦 Notes:
了
(Jōyō kanji )
toend Go-on りょう ( ryō Jōyō ) ←れう ( reu historical ) Kan-on りょう ( ryō Jōyō ) ←れう ( reu historical ) Kun おえる ( o eru了える ) ←をへる ( wo feru了へる historical ) 、おわる ( o waru了わる ) ←をはる ( wo faru了はる historical ) 、しまう ( shima u了う ) ←しまふ ( sima fu了ふ historical ) 、ついに ( tsui ni了に ) ←つひに ( tufi ni了に historical ) Nanori さとる ( satoru ) 了( りょう ) • (ryō
end ( art works ) : concluded 了( さとる ) • (Satoru
a malegiven name 了 (eumhun 마칠 료 ( machil ryo ) ,word-initial (South Korea)마칠 요 ( machil yo ) )
hanja form? 료 /요 ( “ finish ,complete ” ) 了 :Hán Việt liễu 盧 ( lô ) 鳥 ( điểu ) 切 ( thiết ) [ 1] [ 2] [ 3] kiết [ 3] 了 :Nôm lểu [ 1] [ 2] [ 4] [ 5] lẽo [ 1] [ 2] [ 3] liễu [ 1] [ 2] [ 5] lẻo [ 1] [ 2] léo [ 1] [ 4] líu [ 1] [ 4] lếu [ 3] [ 4] sáu [ 1] lèo [ 1] tréo [ 2]
chữ Nôm léo ( “ used inkhéo léo ( “ skillful ” ) ” ) chữ Nôm lẽo used inlạnh lẽo ( “ cold ” ) used inlẽo đẽo ( “ follow closely ; tofollow (another's route)” ) chữ Nôm líu ( “ used inlíu lo ( “ ( of birds ) twittering ;warbling ” ) ” ) chữ Nôm sáu ( “ six ” ) 
