了【le】

change of state, now, became, sentence final le, le
HSK 1
AI-generated

Structure

[statement] + 了 [subject] + 不 + [verb] + 了

Description

了 at the end of a sentence says something is different now from how it was. It goes after a verb phrase, an adjective, or a number or time, and it is not a past tense.

。
It's started raining.
。
I'm hungry now.
。
It's got dark.
。
He's twenty now.

我饿 on its own sounds unfinished. 我饿了 reports a change: I wasn't hungry, and now I am.

A past state with no change in it takes no 了.

。
I was busy yesterday.
  • × 昨天我很忙了 → 昨天我很忙

不…了 for stopping

不 + verb + 了 says something has stopped, or a plan has been dropped. 我不去 is a refusal; 我不去了 says you were going and now you aren't.

。
I'm not going after all.
。
He's given up smoking.

Negation with 没

A change that didn't happen takes 没 and drops the 了.

。
The rain hasn't stopped yet.
  • × 我没吃了 → 我没吃

With a length of time in front, the final 了 comes back: the not-doing has lasted that long and still holds.

。
I haven't eaten for three days.

太…了 also ends in 了, but it is a fixed frame meaning "too" or "so", not a change.

。
That's too expensive.

Examples

。
It's started raining.
。
I'm hungry.
。
It's got dark.
，。
It's eight o'clock – let's go.
。
He's twenty now.
。
I'm not going after all.
。
He's stopped smoking.
。
My Chinese is a lot better now.
。
It's too late.
。
This dish has gone cold.
。
I see.
，。
It's spring, and the weather has turned warm.

References

也
二 / 两
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