终 zhōng end
end; finally
How to remember 终: 纟 thread + 冬 winter = end. The old tailor pulls the last thread through the coat as the long winter fades, and smiles, finally at the end.
Component breakdown
终 = 纟 thread + 冬 winter
- 纟 thread
- 冬 winter
- 夂 pursue
- ⺀ ice
The old tailor pulls the last thread through the coat as the long winter fades, and smiles, finally at the end.
How it is used
- Sense of end/finally - 终于 (zhōngyú) 'at last' after long anticipation: 终于到了 (zhōngyú dào le) finally arrived.
- 终于 marks a hoped-for outcome; 最终 (zuìzhōng) is a more neutral 'ultimately/in the end.'
- 始终 (shǐzhōng) means 'all along, from start to finish': 始终坚持 (shǐzhōng jiānchí) to persist throughout.
- 终身 (zhōngshēn) = lifelong (终身学习 lifelong learning); 终点 (zhōngdiǎn) = the finish/end point.
Words with 终
- 终于zhōngyúat lastHSK 3
- 最终zuìzhōngfinalHSK 4
- 始终shǐzhōngfrom beginning to endHSK 5
- 年终niánzhōngend of the yearHSK 6
- 终点zhōngdiǎnthe endHSK 6
- 终身zhōngshēnlifelongHSK 6
- 终极zhōngjíultimateHSK 7
- 终止zhōngzhǐto stopHSK 7
- 终生zhōngshēngthroughout one's lifeHSK 7
- 终究zhōngjiūin the endHSK 7
- 终结zhōngjiéendHSK 7
- 自始至终zìshǐ-zhìzhōngfrom start to finish (idiom)HSK 7
- 终端zhōngduānendHSK 9
Example sentences
- 我终于到达了山顶。 Wǒ zhōngyú dàodále shāndǐng.I finally got to the top of the mountain.