B1 Expression Neutral

～を終える

4323

Finish doing ~

Phrase in 30 Seconds

Use ～を終える to state that you have completed a specific task or action.

  • Means: To finish, complete, or bring an action to an end.
  • Used in: Professional settings, school projects, or daily chores.
  • Don't confuse: With '終わる' (intransitive), which means 'something ends' on its own.
Task + Effort + Completion = ～を終える

Explanation at your level:

Use this to say you finished something. Like 'I finished my homework'.
This verb is used when you complete a task. It is the transitive form, meaning you are the one doing the finishing.
B1 learners should distinguish between the intransitive 'owaru' and the transitive 'oeru'. 'Oeru' is essential for reporting work progress or daily chores.
At this level, you should use 'oeru' to describe the culmination of long-term projects. It highlights your agency in bringing complex tasks to a successful conclusion.
The nuance of 'oeru' involves the psychological closure of an event. It is often used in professional contexts to signify the finality of a process.
From a cognitive perspective, 'oeru' maps the completion of a bounded event onto a temporal scale, emphasizing the transition from a state of 'doing' to 'done'.

Bedeutung

Expressing the completion of an action.

🌍

Kultureller Hintergrund

Completion is highly valued in business.

💡

Transitive check

If you can add 'I' before the verb, use 終える.

Bedeutung

Expressing the completion of an action.

💡

Transitive check

If you can add 'I' before the verb, use 終える.

Teste dich selbst

Fill in the blank with the correct form.

私は宿題を＿＿＿＿。

✓ Richtig! ✗ Nicht ganz. Richtige Antwort: 終えた

Since I am the agent, use the transitive form.

🎉 Ergebnis: /1

Visuelle Lernhilfen

Häufig gestellte Fragen

1 Fragen

It is neutral.

Verwandte Redewendungen

🔗

終わる

contrast

To end (intransitive)

Wo du es verwendest

💼

Office Report

Boss: レポートは？

You: 今、終えました。

formal

Memorize It

Mnemonic

O-E-Ru: 'Oh, Everything is Ready!' (because I finished it).

Visual Association

Imagine a runner crossing the finish line and throwing their hands up in victory.

Story

Kenji had a mountain of paperwork. He worked all night. At dawn, he put the final stamp on the last page. He sighed, 'Finally, I can finish this.'

Word Web

終わる完了済ませる達成終了終わり

Herausforderung

Write 3 sentences about tasks you finished today.

In Other Languages

Spanish high

Terminar

Spanish uses 'terminar' for both transitive and intransitive.

French high

Terminer

French doesn't have the same strict transitive/intransitive split.

German high

Beenden

German grammar requires specific prefixes.

Japanese self

終える

N/A

Arabic high

أنهى (Anha)

Root-based morphology.

Chinese high

完成 (Wánchéng)

Focuses on the result rather than the action.

Korean high

끝내다 (Kkeutnaeda)

Very similar structure.

Portuguese high

Terminar

Similar to Spanish.

Easily Confused

～を終える vs. 終わる

Transitive vs Intransitive

If you do it, use 終える.

FAQ (1)

It is neutral.

War das hilfreich?

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