Dong Chinese dictionary

le, liǎo, liào

finish

Original meaning:

armless child

Pictograph of a young child, similar to 子, but without arms. Compare to 孑 (child only with right arm) and 孓 (child only with left arm). The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

Components

子 Iconic Remnant component

zi, zǐ

child

A child (子) without arms.

Evolution

Seal script

Shuowen (~100 AD)

Seal script

Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical script

Jin dynasty (266-420 AD)

Regular script

Modern

Definitions

了

to finish; particle of completed action; (completed action marker); (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now); (modal particle intensifying preceding clause)

了

liǎo

to achieve; variant of 瞭|了[liǎo]; to understand clearly

了 (瞭)

liǎo

(of eyes) bright; clear-sighted

了 (瞭)

liào

unofficial variant of 瞭[liào]

Most common words with 了