Introduction
了吗 (le ma) asks "have you … yet?" It is simply the completion 了 (le) followed by the yes-or-no 吗 (ma): 你吃饭了吗？(Nǐ chī fàn le ma?) — Have you eaten? The interesting part is the answer, which is never 不 (bù).
Overview
Structure: Subj. + Verb + Obj. + 了吗 (le ma)?
| Pattern | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Subj + V + O + 了吗 | 你吃饭了吗？(Nǐ chī fàn le ma?) | Have you eaten? |
| Subj + V + 了吗 | 他来了吗？(Tā lái le ma?) | Has he arrived? |
| Answer — yes | 吃了。(Chī le.) | Yes, I have. |
| Answer — not yet | 还没吃。(Hái méi chī.) | Not yet. |
| Subj + V + O + 了没有 | 你吃饭了没有？(Nǐ chī fàn le méiyǒu?) | Have you eaten or not? |
Never answer a 了吗 (le ma) question with 不 (bù):
- 你吃饭了吗？(Nǐ chī fàn le ma?) — Have you eaten?
- ✓ 吃了。(Chī le.) — Yes. ／ ✓ 还没吃。(Hái méi chī.) — Not yet.
- ❌ 不吃。(Bù chī.) — That means "I'm not going to eat" — a refusal about the future, not an answer about the past.
- Anything already finished is negated with 没 (méi), never with 不 (bù).
Examples
你吃饭了吗？
Nǐ chī fàn le ma?
Have you eaten?
他来了吗？
Tā lái le ma?
Has he arrived?
你看了吗？
Nǐ kàn le ma?
Have you seen it?
老师走了吗？
Lǎoshī zǒu le ma?
Has the teacher left?
你买票了吗？
Nǐ mǎi piào le ma?
Have you bought the tickets?
下雨了吗？
Xià yǔ le ma?
Has it started raining?
Usage Notes
- 了吗 (le ma) asks whether something has happened; plain 吗 (ma) asks about a fact or a habit: 你吃饭吗？(Nǐ chī fàn ma?) — Do you eat? / Are you going to eat?
- 了没有 (le méiyǒu) is the A-not-A version and means exactly the same thing. Do not combine the two: ❌ 你吃了没有吗？(Nǐ chī le méiyǒu ma?)
- "Not yet" is 还没 (hái méi) plus the verb. The 还 (hái) says you still intend to — 我还没吃。(Wǒ hái méi chī.)
- In 下雨了吗 (xià yǔ le ma) the 了 is the new-situation 了, not the completion 了. Both take 吗 (ma) in the same way.
- Short answers repeat the verb and keep 了 (le): 来了。(Lái le.) — Yes, he's here.