了了

Chinese

		to know; to understand; (modal particle intensifying preceding clause) to know; to understand; (modal particle intensifying preceding clause); (completed action marker)	to know; to understand; (modal particle intensifying preceding clause) to know; to understand; (modal particle intensifying preceding clause); (completed action marker)
simp. and trad. (了了)		了	了

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): liǎoliǎo

  (Zhuyin): ㄌㄧㄠˇ ㄌㄧㄠˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): liu⁵ liu⁵
• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): liáu-liáu

  (Hailu, HRS): liau^ˊ liau^ˊ

• Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing): lieo³ lieo³
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): liáu-liáu

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: liǎoliǎo [Phonetic: liáoliǎo]
    • Zhuyin: ㄌㄧㄠˇ ㄌㄧㄠˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: liǎoliǎo
    • Wade–Giles: liao³-liao³
    • Yale: lyǎu-lyǎu
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: leauleau
    • Palladius: ляоляо (ljaoljao)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /li̯ɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻³⁵ li̯ɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: liu⁵ liu⁵
    • Yale: líuh líuh
    • Cantonese Pinyin: liu⁵ liu⁵
    • Guangdong Romanization: liu⁵ liu⁵
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /liːu̯¹³ liːu̯¹³/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: liáu-liáu
    • Hakka Romanization System: liau^ˋ liau^ˋ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: liau³ liau³
    • Sinological IPA: /li̯au̯³¹ li̯au̯³¹/
  • (Hailu, incl. Zhudong)
    • Hakka Romanization System: liau^ˊ liau^ˊ
    • Sinological IPA: /liau²⁴⁻³³ liau²⁴/
• Puxian Min
  • (Putian)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: lieo³ lieo³ [Phonetic: lieo¹ lieo³]
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /lieu⁴⁵³⁻⁵⁵ lieu⁴⁵³/
  • (Xianyou)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: lieo³ lieo³ [Phonetic: lieo¹ lieo³]
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /lieu³³²⁻⁵⁵ lieu³³²/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: liáu-liáu
    • Tâi-lô: liáu-liáu
    • Phofsit Daibuun: liawliao
    • IPA (Xiamen): /liau⁵³⁻⁴⁴ liau⁵³/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /liau⁵⁵⁴⁻²⁴ liau⁵⁵⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /liau⁵³⁻⁴⁴ liau⁵³/
    • IPA (Taipei): /liau⁵³⁻⁴⁴ liau⁵³/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /liau⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ liau⁴¹/

Verb

了了

1. (literary) to know clearly

Derived terms

• 不甚了了 (bùshènliǎoliǎo)
• 小時了了，大未必佳 / 小时了了，大未必佳

Adjective

了了

1. (literary) intelligent; clever

   • 韙曰：「小時了了，大未必佳。」文舉曰：「想君小時，必當了了。」 [Literary Chinese, trad.]
     韪曰：「小时了了，大未必佳。」文举曰：「想君小时，必当了了。」 [Literary Chinese, simp.]

     From: Liu Yiqing (editor), A New Account of the Tales of the World, 5^th century CE

     Wěi yuē: “Xiǎoshí liǎoliǎo, dà wèibì jiā.” Wénjǔ yuē: “Xiǎng jūn xiǎoshí, bì dāng liǎoliǎo.” [Pinyin]

     Chen Wei, dismissing the story, said, "Many a clever boy failed to grow into an intelligent man." Kong Wenju replied, "I reckon that you must have been quite clever a boy once."

2. (Southern Min) all

   這个袂使，彼个毋通，全你的意見了了。 [Taiwanese Hokkien, trad.]
   这个袂使，彼个毋通，全你的意见了了。 [Taiwanese Hokkien, simp.]

   Chit-ê bē-sái, hit-ê m̄-thang, choân lí ê ì-kiàn--liáu-liáu. [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]

   (please add an English translation of this usage example)

Synonyms

• (intelligent):

edit

• 乖巧 (guāiqiǎo)
• 伶俐 (línglì)
• 儇 (Wu, of a child)
• 奢遮 (Wu, of a child)
• 宿鬼 (Hokkien)
• 性靈 / 性灵 (xìnglíng) (literary)
• 敏慧 (mǐnhuì)
• 明慧 (mínghuì)
• 明智 (míngzhì)
• 機敏 / 机敏 (jīmǐn)
• 機智 / 机智 (jīzhì)
• 機穎 / 机颖 (literary)
• 機警 / 机警 (jījǐng)
• 機靈 / 机灵
• 活絡 / 活络 (Wu)
• 睿智 (ruìzhì)
• 穎異 / 颖异 (yǐngyì) (formal)
• 精濟 / 精济 (Hokkien, of a child)
• 精靈 / 精灵 (jīnglíng)
• 精齊 / 精齐 (Hokkien, of a child)
• 聰慧 / 聪慧 (cōnghuì)
• 聰敏 / 聪敏 (cōngmǐn)
• 聰明 / 聪明 (cōngmíng)
• 聰穎 / 聪颖 (cōngyǐng) (formal)
• 英明 (yīngmíng)
• 調皮 / 调皮 (tiáopí)
• 靈 / 灵 (líng)
• 靈光 / 灵光 (⁶lin-kuaon) (Wu)
• 鬼 (guǐ) (informal)

Adverb

了了

1. (Southern Min) exhausted; completely used up

   鳥鼠予貓仔掠了了矣。 [Taiwanese Hokkien, trad.]
   鸟鼠予猫仔掠了了矣。 [Taiwanese Hokkien, simp.]

   Niáu-chhí hō͘ niau-á lia̍h-liáu-liáu ah. [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]

   The mouse was completely caught by the cat.

Derived terms

• 死了了

References

• “Entry #60”, in 教育部臺灣台語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwanese Taigi] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2025.
• “Entry #61”, in 教育部臺灣台語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwanese Taigi] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2025.
• 小川尚義 (OGAWA Naoyoshi), editor (1931–1932), “了了”, in 臺日大辭典 [Taiwanese-Japanese Dictionary]‎^[1] (overall work in Hokkien and Japanese), Taihoku: Government-General of Taiwan, →OCLC
• “Entry #573”, in 臺灣客語辭典 [Dictionary of Taiwan Hakka] (overall work in Chinese and Hakka), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2022.
• 莆田市政协文化文史和学习委员会 [Culture, History and Learning Committee of Putian CPPCC], editor (2021), “了了”, in 莆仙方言大词典 [Comprehensive Dictionary of Puxian Dialect] (overall work in Mandarin and Puxian Min), Xiamen University Press, →ISBN, page 360.
• “Entry #63140”, in 重編國語辭典修訂本 [Revised Mandarin Chinese Dictionary] (in Chinese), National Academy for Educational Research (Taiwan), 2021.