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不了了之

bùliǎoliǎozhī
idiom HSK 7 #22,892

Meanings

  1. 1 to settle a matter by leaving it unsettled
  2. 2 to peter out
  3. 3 to fizzle out

Characters

不
bù
not
了
liǎo
to finish; to settle
了
liǎo
to finish; to settle
之
zhī
it (classical)
Literally: 'to not-settle settle it' — to end something by not actually resolving it.

Examples

这件事最后不了了之了。
Zhè jiàn shì zuìhòu bùliǎoliǎozhī le.
In the end, this matter just fizzled out.
很多投诉都不了了之。
Hěn duō tóusù dōu bùliǎoliǎozhī.
Many complaints just end up unresolved.

Tips

usage
不了了之 implies a negative outcome — something that should have been resolved but was dropped or ignored.

Stroke Order

不 bù
了 le
之 zhī