Welcome to our Chinese learning series – Ask Litao. In each video of this new series, we’re going to answer your questions about learning Chinese.

Today’s question is from an Indian student, in the comments he wrote, “What’s the difference between aspect particle 了(le) and modal particle 了(le)?”

First, you need to know that there are two types of 了(le).
了(le) as an aspect particle, in Chinese grammar we call it 了1.
了(le) as a modal particle, which is 了2.

1. The biggest difference between them is 了1 directly follows the verb to indicate that an action is completed.
For example,
他买了一个新手机。
Tā mǎile yī gè xīn shǒujī.
He bought a new mobile phone.

我吃了很多汉堡。
Wǒ chīle hěn duō hànbǎo.
I ate a lot of hamburgers.

她学习了三年汉语。
Tā xuéxíle sān nián Hànyǔ.
She studied Chinese for three years.

In these three sentences, we put 了1 after the verbs to say the completion of an action.

2. 了2 comes at the end of the sentence to indicate that there is a change or new situation.
For example,
他有新手机了。
Tā yǒu xīn shǒujī le.
Here 了2 tells us he has a new mobile phone now, this is a new situation, because before he just had an old one.

我最近胖了。
Wǒ zuìjìn pàng le.
了2 implies that I was thinner before, I have gained weight recently, now I look fatter than before.

她会说汉语了。
Tā huì shuō Hànyǔ le.
了2 indicates that she couldn’t speak Chinese before, but now she can. This is a change or new situation.
3. Another difference between them is 了1 normally doesn’t appear in a negative sentence, because we use 没 to negate past actions.
For example,
他没买新手机。
Tā méi mǎi xīn shǒujī.
He didn’t buy a new mobile phone.

That would be incorrect if you put 了1 after the verb “买mǎi” here. We already learned this in lesson 14 of our elementary Chinese course.

But 了2 can be used with 没 or 不.
For example,
冰箱里没牛奶了。
Bīngxiāng lǐ méi niúnǎi le.
了2 here implies that there was milk in the fridge before, but now there is no milk in the fridge.

我不喜欢你了。
Wǒ bù xǐhuan nǐ le.
It means I liked you before, but now I don’t like you, I don’t like you any more.
You can see in the negative sentences, 了2 still expresses a kind of change or new situation.

Here is a question for you:
In the sentence 外边下雨了(Wàibiān xiàyǔ le), 了(le) here is aspect particle 了1 or modal particle 了2？
Please leave your answer in comments.

Well, the word 了 has many other uses, we’re going to learn them in our future lessons.

Welcome to our Chinese learning series – Ask Litao. In each video of this new series, we’re going to answer your questions about learning Chinese.

Today’s question is from an Indian student, in the comments he wrote, “What’s the difference between aspect particle 了(le) and modal particle 了(le)?”

First, you need to know that there are two types of 了(le).
了(le) as an aspect particle, in Chinese grammar we call it 了1.
了(le) as a modal particle, which is 了2.

1. The biggest difference between them is 了1 directly follows the verb to indicate that an action is completed.
For example,
他买了一个新手机。
Tā mǎile yī gè xīn shǒujī.
He bought a new mobile phone.

我吃了很多汉堡。
Wǒ chīle hěn duō hànbǎo.
I ate a lot of hamburgers.

她学习了三年汉语。
Tā xuéxíle sān nián Hànyǔ.
She studied Chinese for three years.

In these three sentences, we put 了1 after the verbs to say the completion of an action.

2. 了2 comes at the end of the sentence to indicate that there is a change or new situation.
For example,
他有新手机了。
Tā yǒu xīn shǒujī le.
Here 了2 tells us he has a new mobile phone now, this is a new situation, because before he just had an old one.

我最近胖了。
Wǒ zuìjìn pàng le.
了2 implies that I was thinner before, I have gained weight recently, now I look fatter than before.

她会说汉语了。
Tā huì shuō Hànyǔ le.
了2 indicates that she couldn’t speak Chinese before, but now she can. This is a change or new situation.
3. Another difference between them is 了1 normally doesn’t appear in a negative sentence, because we use 没 to negate past actions.
For example,
他没买新手机。
Tā méi mǎi xīn shǒujī.
He didn’t buy a new mobile phone.

That would be incorrect if you put 了1 after the verb “买mǎi” here. We already learned this in lesson 14 of our elementary Chinese course.

But 了2 can be used with 没 or 不.
For example,
冰箱里没牛奶了。
Bīngxiāng lǐ méi niúnǎi le.
了2 here implies that there was milk in the fridge before, but now there is no milk in the fridge.

我不喜欢你了。
Wǒ bù xǐhuan nǐ le.
It means I liked you before, but now I don’t like you, I don’t like you any more.
You can see in the negative sentences, 了2 still expresses a kind of change or new situation.

Here is a question for you:
In the sentence 外边下雨了(Wàibiān xiàyǔ le), 了(le) here is aspect particle 了1 or modal particle 了2？
Please leave your answer in comments.

Well, the word 了 has many other uses, we’re going to learn them in our future lessons.