不⋯⋯了

bù …… le

Expressing "not anymore" with "le"

Wrap a negative in 不…了 and you get "not anymore" — a change from doing to not doing.

不 / 没(有) + Verb Phrase + 了

How it works

我不想吃了 is "I don't want to eat anymore" — I did want to, and now I don't. Without the 了 it's simply "I don't want to eat".

This is the change-of-state 了 doing its usual job, applied to a negative. 我不去了 means the plan is off.

With 没, the same frame means something stopped being the case: 他没钱了 — he's out of money.

Examples

  • wǒ bù xiǎng chī le

    我不想吃了。

    I don't want to eat anymore.

  • wǒ bú qù le

    我不去了。

    I'm not going after all.

  • tā méi qián le

    他没钱了。

    He's out of money.