On its own 掉 (diào) is a verb meaning "to drop, to fall" (杯子掉了, "the cup fell"). As a resultative complement it takes on a sharper meaning: the action leaves the object gone — removed, eliminated, disposed of. 扔 (rēng) is "throw"; 扔掉 (rēng diào) is "throw away" — thrown and gone. This is exactly the job English gives the particles "off" and "away" in phrasal verbs: turn off, throw away, wipe off, cross out. Because getting rid of a specific thing is precisely what the 把 construction marks, 掉 and 把 are close companions.
掉 = removed, eliminated, gone
Add 掉 when the outcome is that the object disappears or is done away with. The main verb says how it's removed — throw, eat, wipe, delete, sell — and 掉 delivers the finality.
| Verb + 掉 | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 扔掉 | rēng diào | throw away |
| 关掉 | guān diào | switch off |
| 忘掉 | wàng diào | forget, put out of mind |
| 吃掉 | chī diào | eat up (make it disappear) |
| 卖掉 | mài diào | sell off |
| 去掉 | qù diào | remove, take out |
| 删掉 | shān diào | delete |
| 擦掉 | cā diào | wipe off, erase |
我把旧衣服都扔掉了。
wǒ bǎ jiù yīfu dōu rēng diào le
I threw all the old clothes away. (informal) — 扔掉 = thrown and gone.
出门前记得把灯关掉。
chūmén qián jìde bǎ dēng guān diào
Remember to turn off the lights before you leave. (informal) — 关掉 = switched off and dead.
这些事就让它过去，忘掉吧。
zhèxiē shì jiù ràng tā guòqù, wàng diào ba
Just let these things go and forget them. (informal) — 忘掉 = banish from the mind.
掉 lives inside the 把 construction
Because 掉 disposes of a definite object, it pairs constantly with 把, which fronts that object before the verb. "Throw the old newspapers away" is far more natural as 把旧报纸扔掉 than as a plain S-V-O sentence. The pattern is 把 + object + V + 掉.
他们去年把那套房子卖掉了。
tāmen qùnián bǎ nà tào fángzi mài diào le
They sold that flat off last year. (neutral) — 把…卖掉 for disposing of a definite thing.
请把这个错别字去掉。
qǐng bǎ zhège cuòbiézì qù diào
Please remove this typo. (neutral) — 去掉 = take it out entirely.
我不小心把文件删掉了。
wǒ bù xiǎoxīn bǎ wénjiàn shān diào le
I accidentally deleted the file. (informal) — 删掉 = deleted and gone.
It's just as at home in a 被 passive, where the disposed-of thing is the subject:
蛋糕被孩子们吃掉了。
dàngāo bèi háizimen chī diào le
The cake got eaten up by the kids. (informal) — 吃掉 = consumed to nothing.
掉 the complement vs 掉 the verb, and negation
The trap for learners is that 掉 has a life as an independent verb meaning "fall / drop / come off." 杯子掉了 means "the cup fell," not "someone got rid of the cup." As a verb 掉 is intransitive and accidental; as a complement it rides on another verb and means deliberate removal. Compare:
我的手机掉了，找不到了。
wǒ de shǒujī diào le, zhǎo bu dào le
I dropped my phone and can't find it. (informal) — 掉 alone = it fell, an accident.
黑板上的字还没擦掉。
hēibǎn shang de zì hái méi cā diào
The writing on the blackboard hasn't been wiped off yet. (neutral) — 擦掉, negated with 没.
Negate the completed sense with 没 (还没…掉 for "not yet"), and note the potential form — 忘不掉 ("can't forget"), 去不掉 ("can't be removed") — which is about capacity, not outcome, and is treated on the 得/不 potentials page.
那段回忆我怎么也忘不掉。
nà duàn huíyì wǒ zěnme yě wàng bu diào
That memory — I just can't get it out of my head. (informal) — 忘不掉 = unable to forget it.
Common Mistakes
1. Using bare 掉 to mean "discard." On its own 掉 means "fall/drop," not "get rid of." To discard, you need a verb + 掉.
❌ 我要掉这些垃圾。
Incorrect — 掉 alone is 'fall'; 'get rid of the trash' needs 扔掉.
✅ 我要把这些垃圾扔掉。
wǒ yào bǎ zhèxiē lājī rēng diào
I'm going to throw this trash out. (informal) — 把…扔掉 for disposal.
2. Negating with 不 instead of 没. A thing that wasn't thrown out is 没扔掉.
❌ 我不扔掉那些照片。
Incorrect — reads as a refusal; 'didn't throw them away' is 没扔掉.
✅ 我没扔掉那些照片。
wǒ méi rēng diào nàxiē zhàopiàn
I didn't throw those photos away. (neutral) — 没 for the outcome that didn't happen.
3. Confusing 没忘掉 with 忘不掉. One is a past outcome, the other an inability.
❌ 我没忘掉你，就是控制不了。
Odd — you mean you *can't* forget, which is the potential 忘不掉.
✅ 我忘不掉你。
wǒ wàng bu diào nǐ
I can't forget you. (informal) — 忘不掉 for the inability.
4. Splitting 掉 from its verb with the object. 掉 fuses to the verb; the object goes before it via 把, or after the fused pair.
❌ 请关电视掉。
Incorrect — 电视 can't sit between 关 and 掉.
✅ 请关掉电视。
qǐng guān diào diànshì
Please turn off the TV. (neutral) — 关掉 fused, object after.
Key Takeaways
- 掉 (diào) as a resultative means the object ends up gone — removed, eliminated, disposed of: 扔掉, 关掉, 忘掉, 卖掉, 去掉.
- It's the "off / away" of English phrasal verbs of disposal, and it lives inside 把 sentences: 把旧报纸扔掉.
- Don't confuse the complement with the verb 掉 ("fall / drop"): 杯子掉了 = the cup fell.
- Negate a past outcome with 没 (没扔掉); express inability with the potential (忘不掉).
- Contrast with 开: 拿开 moves it aside (still there); 拿掉 removes it (gone).
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- Resultative 开: Opening and SeparatingHSK 3 — 开 (kāi) is the resultative of opening, coming apart, and moving away — 打开 (open), 分开 (separate), 走开 (move off), 传开 (spread); one morpheme covering English 'open / apart / away / off', negated with 没.
- 把 with Resultative & Directional ComplementsHSK 3 — 把 finds its most natural home with resultative and directional complements — disposing of a definite object and stating the result: 把衣服洗干净了, 把书拿出来, 把垃圾扔掉.
- State Resultatives 饱/醉/死: How the Doer Ends UpHSK 4 — When the resultative is an adjective, it names a resulting state — often on the doer: 吃饱 (eat one's fill), 喝醉 (get drunk), 累死 (dead tired), 气死 (furious); plus 洗干净 (wash clean), 弄坏 (break). Negated with 没, not built with 得.
- The 把 Disposal ConstructionHSK 3 — 把 (bǎ) pulls a definite object in front of the verb so the sentence can say what is DONE to it and how it ends up: 我把门关了 (I closed the door), 请把书放在桌子上 (put the book on the table). There's no English equivalent — 把 means 'take this specific thing and dispose of it thus.'