脫了

Chinese

		perfective	perfective
trad. (脫了)		脫	了
simp. (脱了)		脱	了
alternative forms		脫嘞／脱嘞 脫勒／脱勒 脫拉／脱拉

Pronunciation

• Wu (Wugniu)
  • (Northern): ⁷theq-leq

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• Wu
  • (Shanghai):
    • Wugniu: ⁷theq-leq
    • MiniDict: theh^入 leh
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ⁴theq-leq
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /tʰəʔ³³ ləʔ⁴⁴/

Particle

脫了 (Northern Wu)

1. Used to indicate the occurrence of an action that results in a loss, vanishment or a negative outcome.

   腦子壞脫了／脑子坏脱了 [Shanghainese]  ―  ⁶nau-tsy ⁶wa-theq-leq [Wugniu]  ―  Brain's busted

   太陽撥雲遮脫了。 [Shanghainese, trad.]
   太阳拨云遮脱了。 [Shanghainese, simp.]

   ⁵tha-yan ⁷peq ⁶yun ¹tso-theq-leq [Wugniu]

   The sun was hidden by the clouds.

2. Used to indicate that the consumption or disposition of a certain number of objects has been completed.
3. Used to indicate that the completion of a due task has been achieved.

Usage notes

The terms 脫了, 脫, and 了 (and/or variations of which) all indicate the perfective aspect in a number of Northern Wu languages, though they do differ in use. The vocabulary and grammar used will be based on Shanghainese, though it can be appropriated to others.

• 脫／脱 most basically connotes the vanishing or, harm to, or disadvantage to something resulting from an action. Compare the following:

• 死脫／死脱 [Shanghainese]  ―  ⁵shi-theq [Wugniu]  ―  to die, (one is dead and vanished)
• 瘦脫／瘦脱 [Shanghainese]  ―  ⁵seu-theq [Wugniu]  ―  to lose weight (one's weight is decreased)
• 壞脫／坏脱 [Shanghainese]  ―  ⁶wa-theq [Wugniu]  ―  to spoil; to break (the object was harmed having become spoilt or unusable)

From there, it was broadened to generally refer to the completedness, vanishing, or disposal of a thing or task, e.g.:

• 搿物事摜脫！ [Shanghainese, trad.]
  搿物事掼脱！ [Shanghainese, simp.]

  ⁸geq ⁸meq-zy ⁶gue-theq [Wugniu]

  Throw that thing away!

• 功課做脫／功课做脱 [Shanghainese]  ―  ¹kon-khu ⁵tsu-theq [Wugniu]  ―  Get homework finished

• 了 has two basic uses, one of which is as a modal particle and the other is as an aspect particle.

• As a modal particle, 了 mostly appears at the end of a sentence, which is used to mark the occurrence or "happening" of an event. Compare the following two instances of dinner completion:

• 夜飯吃好了。 [Shanghainese, trad.]
  夜饭吃好了。 [Shanghainese, simp.]

  ⁶ya-ve ⁷chiq-hau-leq [Wugniu]

  [The speaker has] finished dinner.

Where it is not that the speaker is going to finish eating the dinner some other time. The completion of dinner has already happened and is true.

• 吃好夜飯看電視。 [Shanghainese, trad.]
  吃好夜饭看电视。 [Shanghainese, simp.]

  ⁷chiq-hau ⁶ya-ve ⁵khoe ⁶di-zy [Wugniu]

  After eating dinner, watch the television. (non-temporal)

Where the completion of dinner is not necessarily complete. It may be that watching the television is ought to be done afterwards, or that the speaker is announcing this as a routine.

• As an aspect particle, 了 marks the action's completion. For example:

• 吃了交關物事 [Shanghainese, trad.]
  吃了交关物事 [Shanghainese, simp.]

  ⁷chiq-leq ¹ciau-kue ⁸meq-zy [Wugniu]

  Ate a lot of things

Traditionally, this sense would use the term 仔, though it is somewhat old-fashioned noawadays in Shanghainese.

• Most uses of 脫了／脱了 is used like a merge between 脫 and 了 as a modal particle. It informs the speaker that the verb is completed but is new information.

• 手機落脫了。 [Shanghainese, trad.]
  手机落脱了。 [Shanghainese, simp.]

  ⁵seu-ci ⁸loq-theq-leq [Wugniu]

  My phone is gone.

• One important distinction between the two is that 脫 can be used in moods whereby the action referred to by the verb has not yet taken place (such as in imperatives and subjunctives), as opposed to 了. For instance:

• 衣裳汏脫伊再去汏浴。 [Shanghainese, trad.]
  衣裳汏脱伊再去汏浴。 [Shanghainese, simp.]

  ¹i-zaon ⁶da-theq-yi ¹tse-chi ⁶da-yoq [Wugniu]

  Get the clothes washed before taking a shower.

is correct, whilst

• 衣裳汏了伊再去汏浴。 [Shanghainese, trad. and simp.]

is not.

• 脫 can also be used in non-temporal contexts:

• 手機末手機落脫，鑰匙末鑰匙勿帶，儂哪能介馬虎個啦？ [Shanghainese, trad.]
  手机末手机落脱，钥匙末钥匙勿带，侬哪能介马虎个啦？ [Shanghainese, simp.]

  ⁵seu-ci-meq ⁵seu-ci ⁸loq-theq ⁸yaq-zy-meq ⁸yaq-sy ⁸veq-ta ⁶non ⁶na-nen ¹ka ¹ma-hu-gheq ⁰la [Wugniu]

  Your phone you lose, your keys you don't have, how can you be this careless?

With 脫 here the speaker establishes the current state of the phone "having been lost", without presenting this as a change of state as 脫了 would.

• The speaker's positivity to the result can also be noticed. For instance:

• 媽媽，我今朝去外婆屋裏吃了交關好物事！ [Shanghainese, trad.]
  妈妈，我今朝去外婆屋里吃了交关好物事！ [Shanghainese, simp.]

  ¹ma-ma ⁶ngu ¹cin-tsau-chi ⁶nga-bu ⁷oq-li ⁷chiq-leq ¹ciau-kue ⁵hau-meq-zy [Wugniu]

  Mum, I ate so much good stuff at grandma's house today! (Neutrally reporting having eaten)

• 今朝一隻小鬼又來了，吃脫交關物事。 [Shanghainese, trad.]
  今朝一只小鬼又来了，吃脱交关物事。 [Shanghainese, simp.]

  ¹cin-tsau ⁷iq-tsaq ⁵shiau-ciu ⁶yeu ⁶le-leq ⁷chiq-theq ¹ciau-kue ⁸meq-zy [Wugniu]

  The kid's come again today and ate a lot of things. (The speaker insinuates having "lost" something with 脫, without presenting this as a newly occurred state - the things had already been eaten for a while)

• 物事儕撥伊吃脫了。 [Shanghainese, trad.]
  物事侪拨伊吃脱了。 [Shanghainese, simp.]

  ⁸meq-zy ⁶ze ⁷peq-yi ⁷chiq-theq-leq [Wugniu]

  He's eaten everything. (The things have been "lost" to the eating, and is newly lost compared to before when the food was not eaten.)

Synonyms

• 脫／脱, 了