嘎了

gǎle

phrase

Meanings

1 (slang) toast; done for; game over
2 (slang) bit the dust; kicked the bucket

Characters

(slang) to die; to break

perfective particle

Examples

我手机嘎了，进水了。

Wǒ shǒujī gǎ le, jìn shuǐ le.

My phone is toast — it got water-damaged.

这次考试我嘎了。

Zhè cì kǎoshì wǒ gǎ le.

I'm so screwed on this exam.

听说他爷爷上个月嘎了。

Tīngshuō tā yéye shàng ge yuè gǎ le.

I heard his grandpa kicked the bucket last month.

Tips

register

嘎了 is internet/youth slang. Originally Beijing-area dialect for 'to die', it spread on Douyin and Bilibili around 2021 to mean 'broken / ruined / over' for any object or situation. Avoid in formal writing.

mistakes

Don't confuse with 嘎 (gā) meaning 'creak/quack'. In this slang sense, 嘎 is read with third tone (gǎ) — listen for the dip.

Stroke Order

嘎 gā

了 le