Meaning:

    “私” means “private,” and “了” is short for “了结” which means to “solve.” Parties sometimes tend to settle disputes among themselves without going to the court or authorities to save trouble or to avoid bad publicity. This way of solving disputes is called “私了.”

    Example:

    A: 中午一起吃饭吧？

    Zhōngwǔ yīqǐ chīfàn ba?

    How about having lunch together?

    B: 改天吧。今天上午有个的士司机追尾了我的车，我要送车去修理厂。

    Gǎitiān ba。Jīntiān shàngwǔ yǒu gè díshì sījī zhuīwěi le wǒ de chē, wǒ yào sòng chē qù xīulǐchǎng。

    Rain check. A taxi rearended my car this morning, and I have to send it to the garage.

    A: 叫交警了吗？

    Jiào jiāojǐng le ma?

    Did you call the traffic police?

    B: 没有，撞的不厉害，的士司机着急拉活，给了我一千块钱私了。

    Méiyǒu, zhuàng de bù lìhài, díshì sījī zháojí lāhuó, gěi le wǒ yīqiān kuài qián sīliǎo。

    No. It’s not a serious dent. The taxi driver was in a hurry to pick up the next client and gave me 1,000 yuan to solve the matter in private.