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完了 (wán le) — to be over; to come to an end; (interjection, colloquial) oh no; that's it (signalling disaster or helplessness)

Definition

完了 is the result of 完 ('finish') plus the completion particle 了 — so it means something has come to an end. As a stand-alone exclamation it is colloquial 'oh no, it's over!' expressing that a situation is hopeless or disastrous.

verb
to be overto come to an end(interjection, colloquial) oh nothat's it (signalling disaster or helplessness)

Examples

  • 完了，。
    Diàn yǐng wán le, wǒ men huí jiā ba.
    The movie is over; let's go home.
  • ，完了！。
    Wǒ de shǒu jī méi diàn le, wán le! diàn huà dǎ bù tōng le.
    My phone's battery died — that's it! The call won't go through.
  • ，完了。
    Děng tā bǎ huà shuō wán, huì yì jiù wán le.
    When he finishes speaking, the meeting will be over.

Origin

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
宀宀miánroof
Sound part声符shēngfú
元
元yuán完wán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

完 pairs 宀 (roof) with 元, which gives the sound.

Open 完 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

了 was once drawn to show a baby with no arms; some old comments say it showed crossed or tangled legs.

Open 了 →
Appears in
Change & Process

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