Vocabulary · 词汇 cíhuì

终于

zhōngyú

The word you breathe out at the end of a long wait. 终于 marks the arrival of something awaited or hard-won, the release at the close of a struggle, and it sits a careful step away from the neutral 最后 and the relieved 总算.

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字源 zìyuán Etymology & Structure

字源洞见 zìyuán dòngjiàn · Etymological Insight

终 zhōng means "end, finish, final". Its traditional form 終 carries the silk radical 糸 beside 冬 dōng (winter), and the older graph showed a cord knotted at both ends, the finishing-off of a thread, hence "to bring to a close". Winter, the year's end, reinforces the sense of completion. 于 yú is a classical preposition, "at, in, to", here marking the point at which something lands.

Together 终于 reads literally as "at the end, arriving at the close", which became the adverb "finally, at last". The 终 of ending threads through a family of words: 终点 zhōngdiǎn (the finish line), 终身 zhōngshēn (lifelong, "to the end of the body"), 最终 zuìzhōng (ultimately), 始终 shǐzhōng (from start to finish). 终于 sits among them as the everyday word for the long-awaited end of a road.

终于 zhōngyú The Core Adverb

终于 zhōngyú finally; at last; in the end

Adv 副词 fùcí

Marks the arrival of a long-awaited or hard-won result. It sits before the verb, after the subject, and the clause it opens describes the outcome, usually ending in 了 to show the awaited thing has now happened: 我终于明白了 ("I finally understand"). It carries release and fulfillment, the sense that a long road has reached its end.

等了三个小时，公交车终于来了。

Děng le sān ge xiǎoshí, gōngjiāochē zhōngyú lái le.

After waiting three hours, the bus finally came.

经过努力，他终于实现了梦想。

Jīngguò nǔlì, tā zhōngyú shíxiàn le mèngxiǎng.

Through hard work, he finally realized his dream.

用法 yòngfǎ Patterns — After the Long Road

终于 in use · the core patterns Subject + 终于 + Verb + 了 , 我终于到了 · I finally arrived
经过… ，终于… , after… , finally… (effort then result)
等了… ，终于… , waited… , at last… (waiting then arrival)
终于 + 可以 / 能 + Verb , 终于可以休息了 · can finally rest
担心的事终于… , the feared thing has finally… (darker tone)

经过… 终于… jīngguò… zhōngyú… after (effort), finally…

The classic effort-then-result frame. 经过 ("after going through") sets up the struggle or process, and 终于 delivers the hard-won outcome: 经过多年研究，他们终于找到了答案 ("after years of research, they finally found the answer"). It is the natural shape for stories of perseverance paying off.

经过反复练习，她终于学会了游泳。

Jīngguò fǎnfù liànxí, tā zhōngyú xuéhuì le yóuyǒng.

After repeated practice, she finally learned to swim.

终于 + 可以 / 能 + 了 zhōngyú + kěyǐ / néng + le can finally (now)

Pairing 终于 with a modal voices the relief of a thing now permitted or possible after waiting: 终于可以放假了 ("we can finally take a break"), 忙完了，终于能好好睡一觉了 ("done at last, I can finally get a good sleep"). The 了 seals the new, longed-for state. A very common everyday expression of release.

考完试，终于可以好好玩了！

Kǎo wán shì, zhōngyú kěyǐ hǎohǎo wán le!

Exams are over, we can finally have some fun!

辨析 biànxī Finally, In the End, After All

辨析 biànxī · Distinguishing the Words

Several words crowd around "finally", split by emotion and by job. 终于 zhōngyú is the word of anticipation fulfilled: something long-awaited or hard-won has arrived, and it carries relief or satisfaction. 最后 zuìhòu is neutral and sequential, "last, in the end", simply ordering events or marking the final item: 最后我们回家了 ("lastly we went home"), no feeling attached. If you are listing steps, use 最后; if you are exhaling after a long wait, use 终于.

总算 zǒngsuàn is 终于's more emotional cousin, "at long last, thank goodness", heavy with relief after frustration: 总算赶上了火车 ("we just barely caught the train, phew"). 到底 dàodǐ is different again: as an adverb it means "after all, in the end" in the sense of getting to the bottom of a matter, and in questions it presses for a real answer, 你到底想怎么样？("what on earth do you want?"). So: 终于 for the awaited result, 最后 for sequence, 总算 for relief, 到底 for getting to the heart of things.

成语 chéngyǔ Set Phrases

善始善终 shàn shǐ shàn zhōng to finish well what one begins well Literally "good at the start, good at the end", to carry a thing through properly from beginning to completion. Here 终 ("end") is paired with 始 ("start") to praise seeing something through. The well-managed close that 终于 announces.

有始有终 yǒu shǐ yǒu zhōng to see a thing through to the end Literally "to have a beginning and have an end", to finish what one starts rather than abandon it midway. The 终 of completion again, valued as a virtue of persistence. The opposite is 有始无终, all start and no finish.

水到渠成 shuǐ dào qú chéng when water flows, a channel forms Literally "when the water arrives, the channel is made", success comes naturally once conditions ripen, with no forcing. It is the gentle counterpart to 终于's hard-won arrival: the long-awaited outcome that, in the end, simply falls into place.