没完没了

• Pinyin: méi wán méi liǎo
• Hanzi breakdown: 没 — lacking; 完 = 宀 (roof) + 元 — complete, finished; 了 — completion particle; reduplication creates emphasis

Meaning

Endless; interminable; going on and on without stopping. Describes something that drags on exhaustingly.

A strongly expressive colloquial phrase used to describe something — a person's complaints, a meeting, a conflict, noise — that never seems to come to an end. Carries a tone of frustration or exhaustion. Very common in spoken Mandarin.

Examples

1. 他一旦开始抱怨就没完没了，同事们早已习以为常，只能默默忍受。 Once he starts complaining, he goes on and on. His coworkers are used to it and can only put up with it in silence.
2. 这场谈判拖延了数月，双方各执一词，争论没完没了，迟迟达不成共识。 This negotiation dragged on for months. Both sides stuck to their positions, and the arguing went on endlessly, with no agreement in sight.
3. 工地上的噪音没完没了，附近居民的正常休息受到了严重影响，纷纷投诉。 The construction noise never stopped, seriously affecting nearby residents’ rest, and people filed complaint after complaint.

Usage Guide

Context: daily life, complaints, spoken

Tone: negative

Do Say

• 这道题目改了又改，老师的要求没完没了，学生们都已精疲力竭。(This assignment was revised again and again — the teacher's demands were never-ending, and the students were completely exhausted.)
• 孩子要这要那，没完没了，父母只能耐心地一件件处理。(The child kept asking for one thing after another, on and on without end, and the parents could only patiently deal with each request one by one.)

Don't Say

• 在正式文件中使用'没完没了' — 书面语应改用'无休止地''不断地'或'持续不断' (Don't use 没完没了 in formal documents — use 无休止地, 不断地, or 持续不断 instead)

Origin & History

Reduplication structure: 没完 (not finished) + 没了 (not ended). Double negation intensifies the sense of endlessness.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal