HSK 3 · VERSION 2.0#49

Expressing Duration with “le”

动词 + 了 + 时长

dòngcí + le + shícháng

How it works

This pattern shows that an action lasted for a period of time and is usually completed or viewed as a whole.

Verb + 了 + Duration

我学了三年汉语。

Wǒ xué le sān nián Hànyǔ.

I studied Chinese for three years.

他等了我半个小时。

Tā děng le wǒ bàn ge xiǎoshí.

He waited for me for half an hour.

我昨天睡了八个小时。

Wǒ zuótiān shuì le bā ge xiǎoshí.

I slept for eight hours yesterday.

This pattern focuses on the length of a completed or viewed action.