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 (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁷theq-leq

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

Particle

脫了 (Northern Wu)

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.
Used to indicate that the consumption or disposition of a certain number of objects has been completed.
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