Introduction
不……了 (bù … le) says that something has stopped being the case. 我不吃了。(Wǒ bù chī le.) — I'm not eating any more. The 不 does the negating; the 了 marks the change. Take the 了 away and you get a flat "I don't eat", with no sense that anything shifted.
Overview
Structure: 不 (bù) + Verb Phrase + 了 (le)
| Pattern | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| S + 不 + V + 了 | 我不吃了。(Wǒ bù chī le.) | I'm not eating any more. |
| S + 不 + V + O + 了 | 我不喝咖啡了。(Wǒ bù hē kāfēi le.) | I've stopped drinking coffee. |
| S + 不 + Adj + 了 | 我不累了。(Wǒ bú lèi le.) | I'm not tired any more. |
| S + 不想 + V + 了 | 我不想去了。(Wǒ bù xiǎng qù le.) | I don't want to go any more. |
| 别 + V + 了 | 别说了。(Bié shuō le.) | Stop talking. |
不 (bù) alone vs 不……了 (bù … le):
- 我不吃肉。(Wǒ bù chī ròu.) — I don't eat meat. A standing fact about me.
- 我不吃肉了。(Wǒ bù chī ròu le.) — I've given up meat. Something changed.
- And compare the third option: 我没吃肉。(Wǒ méi chī ròu.) — I didn't eat any meat (on that occasion).
- The 了 (le) here is the sentence-final 了 of change, not the completion 了 that sits after a verb.
Examples
我不吃了，谢谢。
Wǒ bù chī le, xièxie.
I won't have any more, thanks.
我不喝咖啡了，喝太多了。
Wǒ bù hē kāfēi le, hē tài duō le.
I've stopped drinking coffee, I was having too much.
他不来了。
Tā bù lái le.
He's not coming after all.
我不累了。
Wǒ bú lèi le.
I'm not tired any more.
下雨了，我们不去了吧。
Xià yǔ le, wǒmen bú qù le ba.
It's raining — let's not go after all.
我不想看电视了。
Wǒ bù xiǎng kàn diànshì le.
I don't feel like watching TV any more.
Usage Notes
- The 了 goes at the end of the sentence, after the object: 我不喝咖啡了。(Wǒ bù hē kāfēi le.) — not 我不喝了咖啡 (Wǒ bù hē le kāfēi).
- This pattern is the polite way to refuse more food or drink: 我不吃了，谢谢。(Wǒ bù chī le, xièxie.)
- With adjectives it means the state has ended: 不冷了 (bù lěng le) — it's not cold any more, 不疼了 (bù téng le) — it doesn't hurt any more.
- 别……了 (bié … le) tells someone to stop what they are already doing: 别说了。(Bié shuō le.) — Stop talking. Compare 别说。(Bié shuō.) — Don't say it (they haven't started).
- Tone: 不 becomes bú before a fourth tone — 不去了 (bú qù le), 不累了 (bú lèi le).