Glyph originEdit
Phono-semantic compound (形聲): semantic 口 (“mouth”) + phonetic 左
Etymology 1Edit
First attested in 《散語四十章》 (1877) as 唨. This word replaces earlier 嘵/哓 (hiu1) in standard Cantonese.
Probably from 著/着 (Cheung, 1997; Chan, 1998; Fan and Chan, 2022); the pronunciation may be due to influence from Mandarin zhuó (Chan, 1998) or colloquial tonal modification to a high-rising tone (Cheung, 1997).
Chan (1995) proposes that the original character is 𧇣 (MC d͡zuoH, “to go”); others (including Jimmy Pang and Chapman Chan) have similarly proposed 徂 (MC d͡zuo, “to go”) to be the original character. These derivations are phonologically and semantically problematic.
PronunciationEdit
DefinitionsEdit
咗
- (Cantonese) Used to emphasise an action which has been completed and whose result still applies to the present situation. It roughly translates to the past tense in English. [from 19th c.]
佢哋啱啱走咗。 [Cantonese, trad. and simp.]- keoi5 dei6 ngaam1 ngaam1 zau2 zo2. [Jyutping]
- They left just now.
阿媽尋日煲咗湯。佢而家去咗超級市場買餸。 [Cantonese, trad.]
阿妈寻日煲咗汤。佢而家去咗超级市场买𩠌。 [Cantonese, simp.]- aa3 maa1 cam4 jat6 bou1 zo2 tong1. keoi5 ji4 gaa1 heoi3 zo2 ciu1 kap1 si5 coeng4 maai5 sung3. [Jyutping]
- My mum made soup yesterday. Now, she has gone grocery shopping in the supermarket.
- 食咗就冇 [Cantonese] ― sik6 zo2 zau6 mou5 [Jyutping] ― if you eat it there will not be any more
Dialectal synonyms of
了 (“(perfective particle)”)
[map]
Variety
|
Location
|
Words
|
---|
Classical Chinese
|
矣1
|
---|
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)
|
了
|
---|
Mandarin
|
Beijing
|
了
|
---|
Taiwan
|
了
|
Harbin
|
了
|
Yantai (Muping)
|
了
|
Jinan
|
了
|
Luoyang
|
了
|
Wanrong
|
嘮
|
Xi'an
|
咧
|
Yinchuan
|
了
|
Ürümqi
|
咧
|
Wuhan
|
了
|
Chengdu
|
了
|
Guiyang
|
了
|
Guilin
|
了
|
Liuzhou
|
了
|
Xuzhou
|
了
|
Yangzhou
|
了
|
Nanjing
|
了
|
Malaysia
|
了
|
Singapore
|
了
|
Cantonese
|
Guangzhou
|
咗, 嘵 obsolete
|
---|
Hong Kong
|
咗
|
Hong Kong (San Tin Weitou)
|
咗
|
Hong Kong (Kam Tin Weitou)
|
咗
|
Hong Kong (Ting Kok)
|
耗
|
Hong Kong (Tung Ping Chau)
|
好
|
Macau
|
咗, 敲
|
Guangzhou (Panyu)
|
咗
|
Guangzhou (Huashan, Huadu)
|
咗
|
Guangzhou (Conghua)
|
咗
|
Foshan
|
咗
|
Foshan (Sanshui)
|
咗
|
Foshan (Mingcheng, Gaoming)
|
咗
|
Zhongshan (Shiqi)
|
哺
|
Zhuhai (Qianshan)
|
咗
|
Jiangmen (Xinhui)
|
誒, 咗
|
Taishan
|
誒
|
Kaiping (Chikan)
|
誒
|
Enping (Niujiang)
|
誒
|
Dongguan
|
敲
|
Shenzhen (Shajing, Bao'an)
|
好
|
Shenzhen (Dapeng)
|
後, 咗
|
Qingyuan
|
咗
|
Fogang
|
咗
|
Yingde (Hanguang)
|
咗
|
Shaoguan
|
咗
|
Shaoguan (Qujiang)
|
咗
|
Renhua
|
咗
|
Lechang
|
咗
|
Zhaoqing (Gaoyao)
|
咗
|
Xinxing
|
標
|
Luoding
|
咗
|
Yangjiang
|
都
|
Nanning
|
嗮
|
Nanning (Tanka)
|
嗮
|
Wuzhou
|
啊
|
Hepu (Lianzhou)
|
了
|
Guiping
|
畢
|
Guiping (Mule)
|
開, 了
|
Pingnan
|
開
|
Guigang (Gangcheng)
|
開
|
Guigang (Pingdong)
|
開, 了
|
Beihai
|
了
|
Beihai (Nankang)
|
了
|
Beihai (Yingpan)
|
了
|
Beihai (Qiaogang - Cô Tô)
|
了, 咗
|
Beihai (Qiaogang - Cát Bà)
|
咗
|
Fangchenggang (Fangcheng)
|
了, 咗
|
Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)
|
咗
|
Singapore (Guangfu)
|
咗
|
Ho Chi Minh City (Guangfu)
|
咗
|
Móng Cái
|
了, 咗
|
Gan
|
Nanchang
|
了
|
---|
Lichuan
|
了
|
Hakka
|
Meixian
|
了
|
---|
Huizhou (Huicheng Bendihua)
|
拋, 阿
|
Dongguan (Qingxi)
|
開
|
Shenzhen (Shatoujiao)
|
開
|
Zhongshan (Nanlang Heshui)
|
開
|
Wuhua (Shuizhai)
|
哩
|
Wuhua (Huacheng)
|
哩
|
Wuhua (Changbu)
|
哩
|
Wuhua (Mianyang)
|
哩
|
Yudu
|
了
|
Hong Kong
|
開
|
Senai (Huiyang)
|
開
|
Kuching (Hepo)
|
了
|
Huizhou
|
Jixi
|
了
|
---|
Jin
|
Taiyuan
|
咾
|
---|
Xinzhou
|
咾
|
Jiuxing Yumin
|
Lanxi
|
了
|
---|
Min Bei
|
Jian'ou
|
了
|
---|
Min Dong
|
Fuzhou
|
了, 𡅏
|
---|
Min Nan
|
Penang (Hokkien)
|
了
|
---|
Singapore (Hokkien)
|
了
|
Manila (Hokkien)
|
了, 咯
|
Chaozhou
|
了
|
Shantou
|
了
|
Johor Bahru (Teochew)
|
了
|
Southern Pinghua
|
Nanning (Tingzi)
|
了
|
---|
Wu
|
Shanghai
|
仔, 了
|
---|
Shanghai (Chongming)
|
仔
|
Suzhou
|
仔
|
Hangzhou
|
得, 了
|
Ningbo
|
仔
|
Wenzhou
|
爻
|
Jinhua
|
了
|
Etymology 2Edit
PronunciationEdit
DefinitionsEdit
咗
- A chant sound made while working.
CompoundsEdit