to settle a matter by leaving it unsettled / to end up with nothing definite
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Results for “了”
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Exact character matches appear first. For otherwise comparable matches, frequency in film and television subtitles helps determine order. Direct English-definition matches and prefix matches also affect ranking. Word length and the availability of usage notes do not improve rank.
Frequency data: Cai & Brysbaert, SUBTLEX-CH (2010), Creative Commons Attribution. The data includes word forms with at least 10 occurrences in an older subtitle sample. It does not provide current frequency or HSK levels. Absence from the sample does not establish that a word is rare. Names, variants and restricted readings identified in the source appear after general-use entries within the same match type.
(idiom) to do things half-heartedly; to merely go through the motions
to end
cicada (onom.)
to realize clearly / to settle a matter / to get it over with
to repay one's debt
to resolve / to settle
to live out one's life / to die
(coll.) (after adjectives such as 多[], 大[], 遠|远[], 高[]) very / extremely
end / conclusion / solution
to live out the rest of one's life
to completely lack; to have not even the slightest
unoriginal / stereotyped
(idiom) to be well aware; to understand clearly
frank; outspoken / ready; settled; in order / (old) to deal with; to handle
(Buddhism) to fully understand / to understand completely
see 了如指掌[]
see 了如指掌[]
to laugh away (instead of taking seriously)
lit. one pellet of rat feces spoiled the whole pot of congee (idiom) / fig. one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch
to avoid a problem by walking away from it / to quit
lit. one pellet of rat feces spoiled the whole pot of soup (idiom) / fig. one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch
see 一粒老鼠屎壞了一鍋粥|一粒老鼠屎坏了一锅粥[]
too disreputable, crude or inferior to be presented publicly or taken seriously
to be getting on in years; to be of the older generation
to be unable to extricate oneself gracefully / to be put on the spot / to be embarrassed
a little dirt never killed anybody (proverb) / a couple of germs won't do you any harm
no thanks (used to politely but informally decline)
(as a resultative verb suffix) unable to (do sth) / (pattern: {verb} + 個|个[] + ~) without end; incessantly
to be dead / to have passed away
(coll.) on the point of death / dying
to have disappeared / to be missing / nowhere to be found
hardly any better / just as bad
rabbits don't have long tails (idiom) / its days are numbered / won't last long
to settle in court (opposite: 私了[])
if revenge breeds revenge, will there ever be an end to it? (Buddhist saying)
sth bad happened
say no more / don't bring it up / drop the subject
at last / finally / in the end
one's predestined fate is yet to be fulfilled (idiom)
Definitions from CC-CEDICT · 125,326 source records · Release 2026-10-27