Expressing "about to happen" with "le"

Remember that 了 (le) is not only for the past! When something is about to happen, you can also indicate this with a 了 (le). Normally it is paired with a 快 (kuài) and/or a 要 (yào), however.

快……了 with Verbs

When using "快……了" (kuài... le) with verbs, it takes on a meaning similar to the English "just about to".

Structure

快 + Verb/Verb Phrase + 了

Examples

• 你 快 下班 了 吗 ？ Nǐ kuài xiàbān le ma? Are you going to get off work soon?
• 这 些 工作 快 做 完 了 。 Zhè xiē gōngzuò kuài zuò wán le. I am almost finished with work.
• 你 快 到 家 了 吗 ？ Nǐ kuài dào jiā le ma? Are you going to come home soon/ are you almost home?
• 我 觉得 快 下雨 了 ， 我们 走 吧 。 Wǒ juéde kuài xiàyǔ le, wǒmen zǒu bā. I think it's going to rain soon. Let's go.
• 快 过年 了 ， 你 什么 时候 回家 ？ Kuài guò nián le, nǐ shénme shíhou huíjiā? It's almost Chinese New Year, when are you going back to your hometown?
• 小李 快 哭 了 ， 你 别 开 玩笑 了 。 Xiǎolǐ kuài kū le, nǐ bié kāi wánxiào le. XiaoLi is almost crying, stop joking around.
• 我们 快 到 了 。 Wǒmen kuài dào le. We are about to arrive.
• 这 个 老人 快 死 了 。 Zhè gè lǎorén kuài sǐ le. This old person is going to die soon.
• 你们 快 结婚 了 ？ Nǐmen kuài jiéhūn le? Are you soon getting married?
• 快 下 车 了 ， 你 再 等 一会儿 。 Kuài xià chē le, nǐ zài děng yīhuìr. You are soon getting out of the car, wait a moment.

Notice that for some translations, it's more natural to use the English word "almost" instead of "soon."

快 要……了 with Verbs

Another way you will see this same pattern used is in conjunction with the modal verb 要 (yào). 要 can have multiple meanings, one of which is "will" (referring to the future). You can insert it into the basic pattern, right before the verb.

Structure

快 + 要 + Verb/Verb Phrase + 了

Examples

• 你 快 要 下班 了 吗？ Will you be getting off work soon?
• 这 些 工作 快 要 做 完 了 ，我 晚点 下班。 I will almost finish this work, I'll get off work a little late.
• 你 快 要 到 家 了 吗？ Will you be coming home soon?
• 我 觉得 快 要 下雨 了 ，我们 走 吧。 I think it will start raining soon. Let's go.
• 快 要 过年 了 ，你 什么 时候 回家？ It'll be Chinese New Year soon, when are you going back to your hometown?
• 小李 快 要 哭 了 ，你 别 开 玩笑 了。 XiaoLi will soon be crying, stop joking around.
• 我们 快 要 到了。We will arrive soon.
• 这 个 老人 快 要 死了。This old person will die soon.
• 你们 快 要 结婚了？Will you soon be getting married?
• 快 要 下车了，你 再 等 一会儿。You will soon get out of the car, wait a moment.

These examples are the same as some of the ones above, with a "要" (yào) added. The addition of the "要" (yào) does not change the meanings.

快……了 with Adjectives

In this structure, 快 (kuài) is closer to the meaning of "almost" in English.

Structure

快 + Adjective + 了

Note that for adjectives, you don't normally add a 要 (yào) like you do for verbs (see above).

Examples

• 我 快 好 了 。 I'm almost ready.
• 肉 快 熟 了 。 The meat is almost done [cooking].
• 他 的 脏 袜子 快 臭 了。 His dirty socks are about to smell bad.
• 天 快 黑 了 。 It’s almost getting dark.
• 你 的 咖啡 快 凉 了。 Your coffee is almost cool.
• 水果 快 坏 了。The fruit is almost ruined.
• 不 能 再 喝 了，我 快 醉 了。I don't want to drink more, I am almost drunk.
• 我 快 迟到 了。I was almost late.
• 衣服 快 干 了。The clothes are almost clean.
• 杯子 快 满 了。The cup is almost filled up.

要......了 with Verbs

Structure

You can also just use 要 (yào) before the verb, without 快 (kuài) .

Subject + 要 + Verb/Verb Phrase + 了

Note that for adjectives, you don't normally use 要 (yào) like this, as you do for verbs (see above).

Examples

• 要 见 妈妈 了，高兴 吗？ You're about to see your mom. Are you happy?
• 我 觉得 要 下雨 了。 I think it's about to rain.
• 我 要 生气 了！ I'm going to get angry!
• 我 要 迟到 了！ I'm going to be late!
• 他们 的 孩子 要 出生 了。 Their child is about to be born.
• 9 点 了， 超市 要 关门 了。 It's 9 o'clock. The supermarket is about to close.
• 圣诞节 要 到 了，你 有 什么 打算？ It's almost Christmas. What plans do you have?
• 我 要 结婚 了 ！哈哈！ I'm about to get married! Ha ha!
• 我 觉得 我 要 感冒 了。 I think I'm about to get a cold. / I think I'm coming down with a cold.

See also

• "Nearly" with "jihu"
• Approximations with "chabuduo"
• Expressing future with "jiang"

Sources and further reading

Books

• Boya Chinese Elementary Starter 1 (博雅汉语初经起步篇) (p.183)→buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (pp. 267-8) →buy
• New Practical Chinese Reader 2 (新实用汉语课本2) (pp. 196-7) →buy
• 40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course (基础汉语40课上册） (p. 271)→buy

Websites

• ChinesePod: Qing Wen - 了 (le): Something's About to Happen (free podcast content)