Chinese character "了" When we talk about "了", we'd better check out "厶" first. "厶" is not used any more. It stood for the baby with his/her head downwards which meant he/she was not born yet. After the baby was born, then what would you do? You would turn him/her upside down and embrace the baby with your arms. So initially, "了"("厶" upside down) meant the baby already born. When the baby is born, then the delivery is over, you've "finished" a very important and quite tired work, haven't you? I bet a mother would understand this character better. There are some other related characters which are all about human beings. "子"(boy) is a swaddled infant waving his hands. "大"(big) is a man standing upright with all his four limbs stretched. He is certainly of indomitable spirit and feeling something "big". "人"(people) looks exactly like a person who is working in the field and taking care of his crops.