Expressing "stop doing" with "bie… le"

You may know how to make negative commands with "bie", but what if someone is already doing it? The pattern 别…了(bié... le) is all you need to tell someone to STOP DOING THAT (which they're already doing).

Structure

别 + Verb + 了

Instead of just a verb, it can also be a verb phrase.

Examples

• 别 说 了， 我 不 想 听。Bié shuō le, wǒ bù xiǎng tīng. Stop talking. I don't want to listen.
• 别 问 了， 我 不 想 说。Bié wèn le, wǒ bù xiǎng shuō. Stop asking. I don't want to say.
• 别 做 了 ，明天 再 做 吧。Bié zuò le, míngtiān zài zuò ba. Stop doing it. Do it tomorrow.
• 别 看 了，睡觉！Bié kàn le, shuìjiào! Stop watching. Go to sleep!
• 别 哭 了，烦 死 了。Bié kū le, fán sǐ le. Stop crying, it's so annoying.
• 别 笑 了，别人 都 在 看 你。Bié xiào le, biérén dōu zài kàn nǐ. Stop laughing. Other people are looking at you.
• 别 吃 了，我们 要 迟到 了。Bié chī le, wǒmen yào chídào le. Stop eating. We're going to be late.
• 别 玩 了，去 写 作业。Bié wán le, qù xiě zuòyè. Stop playing. Do your homework.
• 别 买 了，太 贵 了！In this case, the person probably isn't actually paying, but they're getting ready to.Bié mǎi le, tài guì le! Don't buy it. It's too expensive!
• 别 喝 了，你 已经 喝 了 五 杯 了。Bié hē le, nǐ yǐjīng hē le wǔ bēi le. Stop drinking. You've already drunk five glasses.

See also

• Negative commands with "bie"

Sources and further reading

Books

• 现代汉语八百词（增订本） (p. 83) →buy

Dictionaries

• 现代汉语词典（第5版） (p. 92) →buy