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 and 见, you can also form result complements with 完. This indicates that an action is finished or completed. The structure is:

Subject + Verb + 完 + Object

Examples

  • 我 说 完 了。I am finished talking.
  • 吃 完 了 吗？Are you done eating?
  • 你 为什么 不 喝 完 这 杯 酒？Why are you not drinking up that glass of wine?
  • 你 没有 吃 完 你 的 水果。You haven't finished eating all of your fruit.
  • 我 昨天 晚上 看 完 了 那 本 书。I finished reading this book yesterday evening.
  • 做 完 这 些 作业 需要 两 个 小时。You will need two hours to finish the homework.
  • 看 完 以后 告诉 我。Tell me when you have finished watching.
  • 我们 学 完 了 100 个词。We studied 100 characters.
  • 你 什么时候 可以 用 完 电脑？When are you going to be done using the computer?
  • 我 今天 要 做 完 这些 事。I want to finish these things today. (Note that 些 means we are talking about more than one thing.)


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 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 那 部 电影 。Tell us that you watched it till the end.Wǒ kàn wán le nà bù diànyǐng.I finished watching the movie.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books


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