Pronunciation of 了

[bones]

Hi,

I would like to ask when do we pronounce 了 as 'le' and 'liao(3)'?

I know that in certain phrases such as 了解 , we pronounce it as liao(3). However in phrases such as:

我回来了

他闯了大祸

Do we pronounce it as le or liao(3)?

[gougou]

In the two sentences you gave, it is pronounced as le. Whenever it functions as grammatical particle, it is pronounced that way.

liao3 is only used when used as a part of a word (often meaning to understand or to end). You will learn these as you go along, I guess. The complement (such as in 办得了）is also pronounced this way.

[againstwind]

You just need to know when 了 is pronounced as 'liao3'

1) as a verb, meaning 'to finish; to complete'

e.g.

a.事情了啦。

b.案子了了。 （the 2nd 了 is le）

c.这件事还没了。

2) used as the complement of actions (动补式/动结式)after 不 and 得, usually expressing estimates.

e.g.

a.我去不了中国。

b.假不了！她就是那个贼！

c.甲：你只用了3分钟煮饭，这饭熟得了吗？(the 1st is 'le')

乙：熟得了，没问题！

d.甲：你干得了这些活儿吗？

乙：可能干不了，太多啦！

3） 了不得/不得了

e.g.

a. 你知道吗？那家饭馆的鱼香肉丝好吃得不得了！

b. 了不得啦！宿舍失火了！

just remember above situations. or, 了 should be 'le'.

[gougou]

2) after 不 and 得

That might be a bit misleading, think of sentences such as 看一下就晓得了 or 不了，不了！ It‘s pronounced le in both, or isn't it?

[zhang laoshi]

1. Liao is actually the original (or official) pronunciation for 了.

2. Pronounce "liao" when it is a verb case or expression, e.g. 了解, 明了, 了结; 受不了, 忘不了, 不了了之, etc

3.When 了is used at the end of a sentence or immediately after a verb (like the two sentences you quoted), it is used as a verb suffix or sentence suffix, so the weak form "le" should be used.

[bones]

Thanks to all who replied. I really appreciate it.

(Quote from gougou)

That might be a bit misleading, think of sentences such as 看一下就晓得了 or 不了，不了！ It‘s pronounced le in both, or isn't it?

(Quote from zhang laoshi)

Pronounce "liao" when it is a verb case or expression, e.g. 了解, 明了, 了结; 受不了, 忘不了, 不了了之, etc

Another question:

Does that mean that I should pronounce '不了，不了' as le and 受不了 as liao3? That's confusing...