Result complement "-wan" for finishing

Level

A2 / HSK2
Level

A2
Level

HSK2
Similar to
Similar to
- Result complements (HSK2, HSK3)
- Result complements "-dao" and "-jian" (HSK2)
- Advanced potential complements (HSK5)
- Advanced result complements "zhu", "kai", and "chulai" (HSK5)
Used for

Describing actions, Indicating conditions, Expressing result
Keywords

了, 完

On its own, 完 (wán) means "to finish" or "to complete." Using it in this grammar structure, it expresses the idea of doing some action to completion.

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.

Subj. + Verb + 完 + 了

Frequently, you'll also see a 了 (le) at the end, indicating completion.

Examples

我说完了。Wǒ shuō wán le.I am finished talking.
你吃完了吗？ Nǐ chī wán le ma?Are you done eating?
我看完了。Wǒ kàn wán le.I want to finish watching it.
大家都写完了。Dàjiā dōu xiě wán le.Everyone finished writing.
你们做完了吗？Nǐmen zuò wán le ma?Did you finish doing it?

Where to put the object

If there is an object followed by the verb, 完 must be placed between the verb and the object. To indicate completion, 了 usually goes after the object.

Subj. + Verb + 完 + Obj. + 了

A few examples:

我做完作业了。Wǒ zuò wán zuòyè le.I finished doing my homework.
老板开完会了。Lǎobǎn kāi wán huì le.The boss finished having the meeting.
我看完这本书了。Wǒ kàn wán zhè běn shū le.I finished reading this book.

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 (wán le) to emphasize that you completed the action: "watch the movie (till the end)" or "eat (all my) supper."

我完了电影。Wǒ wán le diànyǐng.
我看完了电影。To tell us that you watched it till the end.Wǒ kàn wán le diànyǐng.I finished watching the movie.

Sources and further reading

Books