Result complement "-wan" for finishing

Of all the result complements in Chinese, this one is one of the most satisfying to use, since it implies "finishing" something. On it's own, 完 (wán) means "to finish" or "complete." Using it in this grammar structure, it expresses the idea of doing the verb until you are complete.

Structure

As well as with 到 (dào) and 见 (jiàn), you can also form result complements with 完 (wán). This indicates that an action is finished or completed. The structure is:

Subject + Verb + 完 + Object

Examples

• 我 说 完 了 。 Wǒ shūo wán le. I am finished talking.
• 你 吃 完 了 吗 ？ Nǐ chī wán le ma? Are you done eating?
• 我 今天 要 做 完 。 Wǒ jīntiān yào zùo wán. I'm going to finish doing it today.
• 你 为什么 不 喝 完 这 杯 酒 ？ Nǐ wèishénme bù hē wán zhè bēi jǐu? Why are you not drinking up that glass of wine?
• 你 没有 吃 完 你 的 水果 。 Nǐ méiyǒu chī wán nǐ de shǔigǔo. You haven't finished eating all of your fruit.
• 我 昨天 晚上 看 完 了 那 本 书 。 Wǒ zúotiān wǎnshang kān wán le nà běn shū. I finished reading this book yesterday evening.
• 做 完 这 些 作业 需要 两 个 小时 。 Zùo wán zhè xiē zùoyè xūyào liǎng gè xiǎoshí. You will need two hours to finish the homework.
• 看 完 以后 告诉 我 。 Kān wán yǐhòu gàosu wǒ. Tell me when you have finished watching.
• 我们 学 完 了 一百 个 词 。 Wǒmen xué wán le yībǎi ge cí. We finished learning 100 words.
• 你 什么时候 可以 用 完 电脑 ？ Nǐ shénmeshíhou kěyǐ yòng wán diànnǎo? When can you be done using the computer?

In English we say "I finished the movie," or "I finished supper," but in Chinese you should explicitly use the verb implied in English along with 完了 (wánliǎo) to emphasize that you completed the action: "watch the movie (till the end)" or "eat (all my) supper."

• 我 完 了 电影。(In Chinese we need to know: did you watch the movie, or make the movie?)Wǒ wán le diànyǐng.
• 我 看 完 了 电影 。Tell us that you watched it till the end.Wǒ kàn wán le diànyǐng.I finished watching the movie.

See also

• Result complements "dao" and "jian"
• Result complement "-cuo"
• Result complement "-hao"

Sources and further reading

Books

• A Practical Chinese Grammar For Foreigners (外国人实用汉语语法) (pp. 273-84) →buy
• Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition (pp. 97-9) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (p. 42) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (p. 86) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 1 (pp. 152-3) →buy
• New Practical Chinese Reader 2 (新实用汉语课本2) (pp. 87-8) →buy
• Practicing HSK Grammar (语法精讲精炼) (pp. 186-7) →buy