Meaning of 得了
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- all right!
- that's enough!
- (emphatically, in rhetorical questions) possible
How to use 得了
得了 (déle) is used in casual speech to end a discussion, wave something off, or tell someone to stop. It often comes at the start of a sentence or after a suggestion. Example: 得了，别说了。(Déle, bié shuō le.) That's enough, stop talking.
得 (dé) means to get, and 了 (le) marks something as done. 得了 (déle) is like saying "you got it, it's done," so it means all right, that's enough.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up déle and déliǎo. 得了 (déliǎo), with liǎo, appears in rhetorical questions or with negation, as in 那还得了 (nà hái déliǎo), "that would be terrible." It does not mean "that's enough." Also, 得了 (déle) is fairly blunt, so avoid using it to cut off a teacher or boss.
得了 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
得 dé · to obtain · 11 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
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- 9
- 10
- 11
了 le · completed action marker · 2 strokes
- 1
- 2
Related words
Words that share a character with 得了.
| 觉得 | juéde | to think that ...; to feel that ...; to feel (uncomfortable etc) |
| 得到 | dédào | to get; to obtain; to receive |
| 记得 | jìde | to remember |
| 懂得 | dǒngde | to understand; to know; to comprehend |
| 取得 | qǔdé | to acquire; to get; to obtain |
| 得出 | déchū | to obtain (a result); to arrive at (a conclusion) |
| 为了 | wèile | for; for the purpose of; in order to |
| 除了 | chúle | apart from; besides; in addition to (used to exclude, as in 除了他，誰也沒來|除了他，谁也没来[chu2 le5 ta1 |
| 不得不 | bùdébù | have no choice or option but to; cannot but |
| 值得 | zhídé | worth the money; to merit; to deserve; to be worth (doing sth) |
| 认得 | rènde | to recognize; to remember sth (or sb) on seeing it |
| 极了 | jí le | extremely; exceedingly |
Questions about 得了
What does 得了 mean?
得了 (déle) means "all right!; that's enough!" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 得了?
得了 is made of 2 characters: 得 (11 strokes), 了 (2 strokes). That is 13 strokes in total.
Is 得了 an HSK word?
Yes. 得了 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What does 那还得了 mean?
那还得了 (nà hái déliǎo) literally asks "how could that be allowed?" and means "that would be a disaster" or "that's outrageous." It warns that something serious or unacceptable would happen.
Can 得了 be used to make a suggestion?
Yes. At the end of a sentence it can mean "just do it and be done with it." For example, 你自己去得了。(Nǐ zìjǐ qù déle.) means "Just go yourself, then."