終わる

Finish Doing

Level 2Sounds Like owaru

Use 〜終わる（〜おわる） when you want to say you have finished a specific task or action that takes some time to complete, like reading a book or eating a meal.

How It Works

1. Meaning and Usage
〜終わる is used to express that an action has reached its natural or intended conclusion. It is most commonly used with verbs that describe a process with a clear beginning and end, such as writing, eating, or reading.

2. Formation
To create this compound verb, use the masu-stem (the part before 〜ます):

  • 読む（よむ）→ 読み（よみ） + 終わる = 読み終わる (finish reading)
  • 食べる（たべる）→ 食べ（たべ） + 終わる = 食べ終わる (finish eating)
  • 書く（かく）→ 書き（かき） + 終わる = 書き終わる (finish writing)

3. Transitivity Rule
Even though 終わる is usually an intransitive verb on its own (e.g., 授業が終わる - the class ends), when it is used as a suffix, the whole compound verb inherits the transitivity of the first verb. If the first verb takes the object marker を, the compound verb will too.

4. Nuance Comparisons

  • vs 〜終える: While 〜終わる is common in daily speech, 〜終える is more formal and emphasizes the strong will of the person to complete the task.
  • vs 〜上がる: Use 〜上がる when the action results in something being 'ready' or 'completed' (e.g., ケーキが焼き上がる - the cake is finished baking/ready). 〜終わる simply focuses on the end of the action itself.

5. Limitations
This pattern cannot be used for:

  • Natural phenomena: You cannot say 'the rain finished falling' using this pattern. Use 止む（やむ） instead.
  • Instantaneous actions: Verbs like 'to die' or 'to wake up' don't work because they don't have a duration that 'finishes.'

Examples (3)

  1. この本を読み終わったら、貸してください。

    When you finish reading this book, please lend it to me.

    Word by Word: This book (object) read-finish if, lend please.

    Here, 読み終わる is used in the たら conditional form to show that the lending happens after the reading is complete.

  2. 晩ご飯を食べ終わってから、宿題をします。

    I will do my homework after I finish eating dinner.

    Word by Word: Dinner (object) eat-finish after, homework (object) do.

    Using the てから pattern with 食べ終わる emphasizes the sequence of finishing one task before starting the next.

  3. 使い終わった道具は、元の場所に戻してください。

    Please return the tools you have finished using to their original place.

    Word by Word: Use-finished tools (topic), original place to return please.

    The past tense form 使い終わった modifies the noun 'tools' to describe their state.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the wrong particle for transitive actions.

    本が読み終わりました。
    本を読み終わりました。

    Learners often use が because 終わる is intransitive. However, because 読む (to read) is transitive, the compound verb 読み終わる remains transitive and requires the particle を.

  • Using it for natural phenomena like rain.

    雨が降り終わりました。
    雨がやみました。

    〜終わる is for actions performed by an agent or processes with a logical end. For rain or snow stopping, the specific verb 止む（やむ） must be used.

How It Connects

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終わるLevel 2Finish Doing

Learn This First

To use '終わる' as an auxiliary verb meaning 'to finish doing', you must be able to conjugate verbs into their stem form (the form used before 'ます'). It is helpful to understand the general concept of compound verbs where two verbs are combined to create a specific meaning.

Words in This Pattern