How to use 终于
Subject + 终于 + Predicate (+ 了)
终于 presents an outcome as reached after a wait, effort, or a sequence of developments. It normally comes before the relevant predicate and often after the subject. The speaker draws attention to the contrast between the earlier delay or difficulty and the point now reached. English commonly expresses this with “finally” or “at last.”
Relief and satisfaction are frequent, but an unwelcome outcome can also follow a long process. 了 commonly appears when reporting a realized event or changed situation; it is not an automatic requirement of the adverb itself. Do not use 终于 merely to label the last item in any list. The sense of a process leading to an eventual outcome is central.
Examples with pinyin and English
你终于到了！
You've finally arrived!
我们终于见面了！
We're finally meeting each other!
你们终于明白了。
You've finally understood.
作业终于做完了！
I've finally finished my homework!
What to remember
- Use it for an eventual outcome.
- Relief is common but not guaranteed.
- Choose 了 according to the sentence's meaning.
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Source and editorial notes
Explanation rewritten for Laowai. Examples are adapted from the Laowai English grammar curriculum, with editorial corrections where needed. The original curriculum credits AllSet Learning’s Chinese Grammar Wiki as used with permission. Read the retained source credits.
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