Introduction
了 (le) says an action happened. 完 (wán) says it was finished — none of it is left. 我吃了。(Wǒ chī le.) — I ate. 我吃完了。(Wǒ chī wán le.) — I finished eating. 完 glues straight onto the verb, with nothing in between.
Overview
Structure: Subj. + Verb + 完 (wán) + (Obj.) + (了 (le))
| Pattern | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| V + 完 + 了 | 我吃完了。(Wǒ chī wán le.) | I've finished eating. |
| V + 完 + O + 了 | 我看完书了。(Wǒ kàn wán shū le.) | I've finished the book. |
| 没 + V + 完 | 我没看完。(Wǒ méi kàn wán.) | I didn't finish it. |
| V + 完 + 再 + V | 吃完饭再走。(Chī wán fàn zài zǒu.) | Leave after you've eaten. |
| V + 完 + 了吗？ | 你做完了吗？(Nǐ zuò wán le ma?) | Have you finished? |
了 (le) happened; 完 (wán) finished:
- 我看了那本书。(Wǒ kàn le nà běn shū.) — I read that book. Possibly not all of it.
- 我看完了那本书。(Wǒ kàn wán le nà běn shū.) — I finished that book. Every page.
- The negative drops 了 and takes 没 (méi): 我没看完。(Wǒ méi kàn wán.) — I didn't finish it. ❌ 我不看完 (wǒ bú kàn wán).
- 完 (wán) sticks to the verb with nothing between: ✓ 吃完饭 (chī wán fàn) ❌ 吃饭完 (chī fàn wán).
Examples
我吃完了。
Wǒ chī wán le.
I've finished eating.
我看完这本书了。
Wǒ kàn wán zhè běn shū le.
I've finished this book.
你做完了吗？
Nǐ zuò wán le ma?
Have you finished?
我还没看完。
Wǒ hái méi kàn wán.
I haven't finished it yet.
吃完饭再走吧。
Chī wán fàn zài zǒu ba.
Leave after you've eaten.
我下午就能写完。
Wǒ xiàwǔ jiù néng xiě wán.
I can have it written by this afternoon.
Usage Notes
- 完 (wán) is a result complement: it says what the verb achieved. The verb and 完 behave as a single word.
- The object follows the whole unit: 吃完饭 (chī wán fàn) — finish the meal，看完书 (kàn wán shū) — finish the book.
- To say you did not finish, use 没 (méi) and drop 了 (le): 我没吃完。(Wǒ méi chī wán.)
- "Not yet" adds 还 (hái): 我还没看完。(Wǒ hái méi kàn wán.) — I still haven't finished it.
- 完 (wán) also stands alone as a verb meaning "to end": 电影完了。(Diànyǐng wán le.) — The film's over.