Expressing "now" with "le"

现在 (xiànzài) isn't the only way to express "now." You'll notice that in many common expressions, 了 (le) is used in place of the word for "now."

Structure

This pattern is actually the same as change of state with "le", but the examples below are somewhat idiomatic and can also easily be confused with a direct translation of "now" in Chinese, so they get special treatment here.

[New Situation] + 了

Examples

• 知道 了 。Zhīdao le. Got it now. / I see now. / Now I know. (I didn't before)
• 懂 了 。Dǒng le. Now I understand.
• 吃 饭 了 ！Chī fàn le! Time to eat!
• 我 走 了 。Wǒ zǒu le. I'm leaving now.
• 他 来 了 。This can also mean "He's here now." Be careful! Tā lái le. He's coming over now. /He's on the way.
• 上课 了 ！ Shàng kè le! Class begins now!
• 我 去 睡觉 了 。 Wǒ qù shuìjiào le. I'm going to bed now.
• 快 点儿 ， 开会 了 ！Kuài diǎnr, kāihuì le! Hurry up, it's time for the meeting now!
• 该 你 了 。Gāi nǐ le. It's your turn now.
• 电影 开始 了 ！Diànyǐng kāishǐ le! The movie is starting now!

See also

• Change of state with "le"
• Uses of "le"

Sources and further reading

Books

• Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar (p. 68) →buy
• Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition (pp. 126-9) →buy
• Mandarin Chinese: A Functional Reference Grammar (pp. 238-99) →buy
• New Practical Chinese Reader 2 (新实用汉语课本2) (pp. 217-8) →buy
• New Practical Chinese Reader 3 (新实用汉语课本3) (pp. 64-5) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (3rd ed) (p. 8) →buy
• 40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course (基础汉语40课上册） (p. 239)→buy

Websites

• Chinesegrammar.info: Chinese le grammar summary (了)