V+完

Finish Doing

Level 2Sounds Like jyun4

In Cantonese, attaching 完 (jyun4) directly after an action verb indicates that the activity has been finished or brought to its natural conclusion.

How It Works

The verbal phase complement 完 (jyun4) attaches to dynamic action verbs that have an inherent duration (such as 睇 tai2 'read/watch', 食 sik6 'eat', 做 zou6 'do', or 用 jung6 'use').

1. Structure and Object Position
When an object is present, it comes right after 完 (jyun4):

  • Verb + 完 + Object
  • 食完飯 (sik6 jyun4 faan6) — 'finish eating dinner'
  • 睇完本書 (tai2 jyun4 bun2 syu1) — 'finish reading this book'

2. Negation with 未 (mei6)
To express that an action has not been finished yet, place 未 (mei6) before the main verb:

  • 我未食完。 (ngo5 mei6 sik6 jyun4) — 'I haven't finished eating yet.'

3. Potential Infixes
You can insert 得 (dak1) or 唔 (m4) between the verb and 完 to express physical capability or inability to finish:

  • 食得完 (sik6 dak1 jyun4) — 'able to finish eating'
  • 食唔完 (sik6 m4 jyun4) — 'cannot finish eating'

4. Sequential Actions
When ordering events, V + 完 ... 就 ... expresses 'after finishing V, then...':

  • 睇完呢本書就去瞓覺。 — 'After I finish reading this book, then I'll go to sleep.'

5. Key Distinctions

  • 咗 (zo2): Indicates an event occurred, but does not guarantee the entire process or resource was finished.
  • V + 好 (hou2): Adds a nuance of satisfaction or readiness, while 完 is strictly neutral about completion.
  • V + 晒 (saai3): Marks totality across all items/entities ('all of them'). You can combine them into V + 完 + 晒 ('finished absolutely all of it').

Examples (5)

  1. 我睇完呢本書就去瞓覺。

    After I finish reading this book, I will go to sleep.

    Word by Word: I read finish this classifier book then go sleep.

    Shows V + 完 combined with 就 (zau6) to express sequential events.

  2. 佢哋食完飯未呀？

    Have they finished eating their meal yet?

    Word by Word: They eat finish meal not-yet [particle]?

    Demonstrates asking a question about completion using 未呀 (mei6 aa3).

  3. 呢盒紙巾用完喇。

    This box of tissues is all used up.

    Word by Word: This box tissue use finish [particle].

    Illustrates 完 used to indicate that a supply or resource has been completely exhausted.

  4. 呢餐飯太多，我食唔完。

    This meal is too big; I can't finish eating it.

    Word by Word: This classifier meal too much, I eat not finish.

    Uses the potential infix 唔 (m4) to express inability to finish.

  5. 啲功課我已經做完咗喇。

    I have already finished doing the homework.

    Word by Word: Plural homework I already do finish [perfective] [particle].

    Shows 完 co-occurring with the perfective marker 咗 (zo2) and final particle 喇 (laa3).

Common Mistakes

  • Using 唔 (m4) before the verb to express 'have not finished yet'.

    Different Meaning我唔食完。
    我未食完。

    To say you have not finished yet, place 未 (mei6) before the verb. 我唔食完 is a different sentence: it reads as a choice not to finish eating. 唔 inside the complement (食唔完) means "unable to finish eating".

  • Placing the direct object between the verb and 完.

    佢哋食飯完喇。
    佢哋食完飯喇。

    The verb and 完 form a tight verb-complement unit. Direct objects must always follow the compound.

  • Using 完 when readiness or preparation is meant.

    Different Meaning啲飯準備完喇。
    啲飯準備好喇。

    完 marks the cessation of a process without any implication of readiness or quality. When you mean that something is prepared and ready, use 好 (hou2).

How It Connects

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V+完Level 2Finish Doing

Learn This First

To understand 'V+完', you first need to be comfortable with basic Cantonese sentence structure and the concept of verbal particles. Since '完' acts as an aspect marker indicating the completion of an action, familiarity with how Cantonese handles verb aspects and post-verbal modifiers is crucial.

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