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Learn Hardcore Chinese: shuǐlóngtóu yě lòushuǐ le. - The tap is leaking too.

Hardcore Chinese
/Reporting a water leak to property management
/shuǐlóngtóu yě lòushuǐ le.

shuǐlóngtóu yě lòushuǐ le.

Word

水龙头　也　漏水　了。shuǐlóngtóu yě lòushuǐ le.

Meaning

The tap is leaking too.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Hardcore Chinese

Lesson

Reporting a water leak to property management

Breakdown of shuǐlóngtóu yě lòushuǐ le.

change-of-state particle

Used at the end of a sentence. Marks a change of state or new situation.

漏水lòushuǐlòushuǐ

Questions & Answers about shuǐlóngtóu yě lòushuǐ le.

What does 水龙头 mean literally, and is it the normal word for faucet / tap?

Yes. 水龙头 is the standard everyday Mandarin word for faucet or tap.

Literally, it is made of:

水 = water
龙头 = dragon head

Historically, spouts were sometimes shaped like dragon heads, which is why this word developed. But in modern Chinese, learners should usually just treat 水龙头 as a single vocabulary word meaning faucet / tap.

Why is 也 placed before 漏水?

也 means also / too, and in Mandarin it usually goes before the verb or verb phrase, not at the very end like English too often does.

So:

水龙头也漏水了。 = The faucet is leaking too.

Structure:

水龙头 = subject
也 = also
漏水 = leak water / be leaking
了 = indicates a new situation or change of state here

This placement is very common:

我也去。 = I’m going too.
他也知道。 = He also knows.

What exactly does 漏水 mean?

水龙头shuǐlóngtóushuǐlóngtóu

tap; faucet

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漏水 means to leak water or to be leaking.

It is made of:

漏 = to leak
水 = water

Together, 漏水 is a very common verb phrase used for things like:

pipes
faucets
roofs
walls
ceilings

Examples:

屋顶漏水。 = The roof leaks.
这个水管漏水。 = This pipe is leaking.

So in your sentence, 水龙头漏水了 means the faucet has started leaking / is leaking.

Why is there a 了 at the end? Does it mean past tense?

Not exactly. In this sentence, 了 does not simply mean past tense.

Here, sentence-final 了 usually marks a new situation, change of state, or something the speaker has just noticed or is reporting as now true.

So:

水龙头也漏水了。 means something like:
- The faucet is leaking now too.
- The faucet has started leaking too.
- The faucet turns out to be leaking too.

It often implies that this is a new development in the situation.

Compare:

水龙头漏水。 = The faucet leaks / is leaking.
This is more neutral, just stating a fact.
水龙头漏水了。 = The faucet is leaking now / has started leaking.
This suggests a change or discovery.

So 了 here is about current relevance or change, not just past time.

Why isn’t there a word for is, like in is leaking?

Mandarin usually does not need a verb like English is in this kind of sentence.

In English, we say:

The faucet is leaking.

In Mandarin, the main predicate can simply be:

漏水 = leaking / leak water

So:

水龙头漏水了。

This is completely normal Chinese. Mandarin does not need a separate be verb here.

Also, 是 is generally not used before ordinary action verbs:

incorrect: 水龙头是漏水了
natural: 水龙头漏水了

Is 漏水 a verb or an adjective here?

It works as a verb phrase.

In this sentence:

水龙头 = subject
漏水 = predicate verb phrase

So the faucet is doing the action/state of leaking water.

English often uses leaking almost like an adjective, but in Mandarin, 漏水 is best understood as a verb phrase meaning to leak water.

Could I just say 水龙头漏了? How is that different from 水龙头漏水了?

Yes, you may hear 水龙头漏了, but 水龙头漏水了 is clearer and more explicit.

Difference:

水龙头漏了 = The faucet is leaking / has a leak.
This is shorter, but 漏 by itself can sound slightly less specific.
水龙头漏水了 = The faucet is leaking water.
This is very natural and clearly states what is leaking.

In daily speech, both can be understood, but 漏水 is especially common when talking about household leaks.

What does 也 imply here? What is being compared?

也 means that the faucet is one more thing in a list of things that are leaking or one more problem in the situation.

So the sentence suggests that something else was already leaking, and now the faucet is too.

For example:

屋顶漏水了，水龙头也漏水了。 = The roof is leaking, and the faucet is leaking too.

Without 也:

水龙头漏水了。 = The faucet is leaking.

With 也:

水龙头也漏水了。 = The faucet is leaking too / as well.

Can this sentence mean The faucet leaked too in the past?

Usually, the most natural understanding is The faucet is leaking too or The faucet has started leaking too, not a simple past leaked too.

That is because sentence-final 了 often highlights a newly relevant situation, not just a finished past event.

If you really want to focus on a completed past event in a specific time frame, Mandarin usually relies on:

context
time words
sometimes other structures

So for most learners, the best reading here is:

The faucet is leaking too or
The faucet has started leaking too

Is this a natural spoken Mandarin sentence?

Yes, it sounds natural.

A native speaker might say this when discovering another household problem. It has a very conversational feel, especially because of 也 and sentence-final 了.

Some natural variations are:

水龙头漏水了。 = The faucet is leaking.
水龙头也漏了。 = The faucet is leaking too.
连水龙头也漏水了。 = Even the faucet is leaking.

Your original sentence is perfectly normal and idiomatic.

How would I negate this sentence?

To say the faucet is not leaking, you would normally say:

水龙头没漏水。

or

水龙头没有漏水。

For a current state, 没 or 没有 is usually the natural negation here.

If you are just stating a general fact, you might also hear:

水龙头不漏水。 = The faucet doesn’t leak.

Very roughly:

不漏水 = does not leak / is not leaky in general
没漏水 = did not leak / hasn’t leaked / was not leaking in this situation

So if someone is checking whether it is leaking right now, 没漏水 is often the more natural opposite of 漏水了.

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