终 (zhōng): end, finally
终 (zhōng) is a Chinese character meaning “end, finally.” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 纟 (semantic) and 冬 (phonetic). It ranks #558 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 终 thread. Its radical form 纟 (silk) appears in many related characters such as 系 (xì, to connect), 累 (lěi, to accumulate), 绍 (shào, to continue).
Definitions
- end, finally
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 终 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 终
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 终于adverb | zhōng yú | at last | 3 |
| 最终noun | zuì zhōng | final | 4 |
| 始终noun/adverb | shǐ zhōng | from beginning to end | 5 |
| 终点noun | zhōng diǎn | the end | 6 |
| 终身noun | zhōng shēn | lifelong | 6 |
| 年终 | nián zhōng | end of the year | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 终结 | zhōng jié | end |
| 终止 | zhōng zhǐ | to stop |
| 终极 | zhōng jí | ultimate |
| 终生 | zhōng shēng | throughout one's life |
| 终究 | zhōng jiū | in the end |
| 临终 | lín zhōng | approaching one's end |
| 告终 | gào zhōng | to end |
| 终端 | zhōng duān | end |
| 终日 | zhōng rì | all day long |
| 自始至终 | zì shǐ zhì zhōng | from start to finish (idiom) |
| 终点站 | zhōng diǎn zhàn | terminus |
| 终场 | zhōng chǎng | end (of a performance or sports match) |
| 有始有终 | yǒu shǐ yǒu zhōng | where there's a start, there's a finish (idiom) |
| 始终如一 | shǐ zhōng rú yī | unswerving from start to finish (idiom) |
| 善终 | shàn zhōng | to die naturally with dignity |
终 appears in 87 compound words: 51 as the first character, 28 as the last, and 22 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 终 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (21)
to be faithful to one's husband and not remarry; to be fully devoted to someone or something
to cautiously perform the funeral rituals to deceased parents and sincerely pay homage to them at ceremonies
to remain the same all along; to be consistent throughout without change
Showing 12 of 21 idioms containing 终.
Example Sentences
经过长时间的努力，我们终于完成了这个项目。
Jīngguò cháng shíjiān de nǔlì, wǒmen zhōngyú wánchéng le zhè gè xiàngmù.
After long-term effort, we finally completed this project.
...”前肢伤口深难痊愈 专业兽医移植皮肤手术终康复
. . . qián zhī shāng kǒu shēn nán 痊 yù zhuān yè shòu yī yí zhí pí fū shǒu shù zhōng kāng fù
"The forelimb wound is difficult to heal, and the professional veterinarian finally recovers from skin transplant surgery
...A SEA官方公布鼓手真矢不敌病情离世 终年56岁
. . . guān fāng gōng bù gǔ shǒu zhēn shǐ bù dí bìng qíng lí shì zhōng nián suì
A SEA officially announced that drummer Shin'ya succumbed to illness and passed away at the age of 56.
花样年境外债重组 终获债权人批准
huā yàng nián jìng wài zhài chóng zǔ zhōng huò zhài quán rén pī zhǔn
Fantasia Group's Overseas Debt Restructuring Finally Approved by Creditors
冬奥/新华社:谷爱凌,终于等到妳
dōng ào xīn huá shè gǔ ài líng , zhōng yú děng dào 妳
Winter Olympics/Xinhua News Agency: Eileen Gu, we've finally waited for you.
洗面奶什么牌子好?聚焦公认好用的洗面奶年终榜TOP..
xǐ miàn nǎi shén má pái zǐ hǎo ? jù jiāo gōng rèn hǎo yòng de xǐ miàn nǎi nián zhōng bǎng . .
Which brand of facial cleanser is best? Focus on the year-end list of top-rated facial cleansers...
鲍勃第一个到达终点线。
Bàobó dì-yī gè dàodá zhōngdiǎnxiàn.
Bob reached the finish line first.
我们终于登上了富士山山顶。
Wǒmen zhōngyú dēngshàng le Fùshì Shān shāndǐng.
We gained the top of Mt. Fuji at last.
我们必须始终为灾害做好准备。
Wǒmen bìxū shǐzhōng wèi zāihài zuò hǎo zhǔnbèi.
We must always be prepared for disasters.
她终于受不了诱惑，吃掉了整件蛋糕。
Tā zhōngyú shòubùliǎo yòuhuò, chīdiào le zhěng jiàn dàngāo.
Finally she gave in to temptation and ate the whole cake.
Character Family
纟 Radical Family — Characters sharing the silk radical
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 终 (zhōng) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 终 and 始?
How many strokes does 终 have?
What is the radical of 终?
What are the components of 终?
What are common words containing 终?
What characters sound the same as 终 (zhōng)?
Is 终 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 终 with real-time feedback
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