終わる【おわる】

The compound verb structure V[stem] + 終わる is used to express that an action has been completed or finished. The verb stem (the ます form without ます) is attached directly to おわる終わる, forming a new compound verb that means "to finish doing ~."

Since おわる終わる itself is a regular godan (う-verb), it conjugates freely – you can use past tense, negative, て-form, polite forms, and so on.

How to form it

Take the verb stem (masu-stem) and attach おわる終わる:

• よむ読む → 読み → 読み終わる (to finish reading)
• たべる食べる → 食べ → 食べ終わる (to finish eating)
• つくる作る → 作り → 作り終わる (to finish making)
• する → し → し終わる (to finish doing)

終わる vs. 終える

There is a similar pattern V[stem] + おえる終える which also means "to finish doing ~." The difference is subtle: 終わる (intransitive) tends to describe the action naturally coming to an end, while 終える (transitive) emphasizes that someone deliberately completed the action. In everyday conversation, both are used and often interchangeable.

Common usage notes

This pattern is used with volitional action verbs – verbs where someone actively does something (eating, reading, writing, etc.). It sounds unnatural with stative verbs or verbs that don't describe a process with a clear endpoint.