完 (wán): to finish

Meanings

1 to finish
2 to complete
3 to run out of

Characters

完

wán

finish; complete; whole

Contains 宀 (roof) + 元 (origin) - a complete house.

Examples

HSK 1

饭吃完了。

Fàn chī wán le.

The meal is finished.

HSK 1

钱花完了。

Qián huā wán le.

The money is all spent.

HSK 2

作业做完了吗？

Zuòyè zuò wán le ma?

Have you finished your homework?

Tips

grammar

完 is one of the most important result complements in Chinese. It attaches after verbs to mean 'finished doing': 看完 (finished reading), 吃完 (finished eating), 用完 (used up).

usage

完了! as an exclamation means 'It's over!' or 'We're doomed!' - like saying 'Oh no!' in English.

Components

radical

宀 mián

roof; house cover

Top roof radical (Kangxi #40) - a peaked-roof outline picturing a covered house. Anchors the original sense: a building made structurally complete (完工 finish construction). Same radical groups domestic concepts: 家, 安, 室, 宿, 客 - anything that happens 'under a roof'.

phonetic

元 yuán

first; origin; primary

Bottom phonetic 元 - supplies the sound, shifting to wán through n/y onset substitution. The 'origin, whole, complete' sense of 元 also tints the meaning: a building reaches its complete original form. Same phonetic in 院 (courtyard) where it again pairs with a building radical.