了

了 le ˙ㄌㄜ liu5 HSK 1 HSK 3 準備級 1 · Novice 1 高階級 · Level 4

(completed action marker)
(modal particle indicating change of state, situation now)
(modal particle intensifying preceding clause)

了 liǎo ㄌㄧㄠˇ liu5

to finish
(used with 得 dé ㄉㄜˊ or 不 bù ㄅㄨˋ after a verb to express (im)possibility, as in 忘不了 wàng bu liǎo ㄨㄤˋ ˙ㄅㄨㄌㄧㄠˇ "cannot forget")
(literary) (usually followed by a negative such as 无 (無) wú ㄨˊ or 不 bù ㄅㄨˋ) completely (not); entirely (not); (not) in the least
to understand clearly (variant of 了 (瞭) liǎo ㄌㄧㄠˇ)

了瞭 liǎo ㄌㄧㄠˇ liu4

(of eyes) bright
clear-sighted
to understand clearly

了瞭 liào ㄌㄧㄠˋ liu4

unofficial variant of 瞭 liào ㄌㄧㄠˋ

Stroke order

Practice writing

Draw 了 (1 of 1) — stroke by stroke.

Character breakdown

了 radical 亅 = 乛亅

Example sentences

算了。 Forget it.
疯了！ Crazy!
瘋了! Wild!
够了。 That's enough.
行了。 That's enough.

Sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY)