Chinese Grammar Bank

HOW TO USE 终于

The word 终于 has a close range of meanings: “at last, in the end, finally, eventually”.

Therefore, we can use it to emphasise that something is finally done.

HOW TO USE 终于 | STRUCTURE

The word 终于 is used to express “finally” in Chinese.

Usually, it is used when this thing has been done, and it wasn’t easy or took ages.

Besides, using 终于 usually implies that what happened was desirable or wanted, that the speaker is looking forward to what is happening.

Thus, 终于 (zhōng yú) typically carries a sense of joy or relief.

PATTERN

Subject + 终于 + Predicate + 了

Note that unlike “finally” in English, 终于  can never be used alone. It often needs to be used with 了 to express that the action is completed. The predicate part of the pattern can be a verb or an adjective.

HOW TO USE 终于 | EXAMPLES

Let’s have a look at some example sentences for 终于:

fēi jī zhōng yú qǐ fēi le

飞机终于起飞了。

The plane finally took off.
wǒ zhōng yú míng bái le tā de yì sī

我终于明白了她的意思。

I finally understood what she meant.
View More Phrases
CHINESEPINYINENGLISH
我的愿望终于实现了！wǒ de yuàn wàng zhōng yú shí xiàn leMy wish has finally come true!
经过两天的会议讨论，这个问题终于解决了。jīng guò liǎng tiān de huì yì tǎo lùn ， zhè gè wèn tí zhōng yú jiě jué leAfter two days of discussions at the meeting, the issue was finally resolved.
你终于到了，我等了你两个小时。nǐ zhōng yú dào le ， wǒ děng le nǐ liǎng gè xiǎo shíYou’re finally here, I’ve been waiting for you for two hours.
多年之后，他们终于团聚了。duō nián zhī hòu ， tā men zhōng yú tuán jù leAfter many years, they are finally reunited.
考试终于结束了。kǎo shì zhōng yú jié shù leThe exam is finally over.

As you can see, in each of those situations, something has finally happened that seemed to take a lot of effort or time.

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FAQs

What is 终于?

The word 终于 is used to express “finally” in Chinese.

Usually, it is used when this thing has been done, and it wasn’t easy or took ages.

What is the sentence structure for 终于?

Subject + 终于 + Predicate + 了

Note that unlike “finally” in English, 终于  can never be used alone. It often needs to be used with 了 to express that the action is completed. The predicate part of the pattern can be a verb or an adjective.

Any examples of sentences with 终于?

我的愿望终于实现了！| My wish has finally come true!

多年之后，他们终于团聚了。| After many years, they are finally reunited.

考试终于结束了。| The exam is finally over.

What’s the difference between 终于 and 最后?

Both 终于 and 最后 can mean “finally” in Chinese.

However, they differ in some points.

Usually, 终于 is used when this thing has been done, and it wasn’t easy or took ages. It can also imply that what happened was desirable or wanted, that the speaker is looking forward to what is happening.

最后 is a bit more neutral, and only states that something finally happened, without any mention of if it took a long time or not.

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