Definition
终 is a bound morpheme (不成词语素) — it never appears as an independent word, only as part of a compound. Its main senses are 'end/finish' (终止, 终结), 'finally/after all' (终于, 终究), and 'whole/entire (of a time period)' (终日, 终生). It also carries a euphemistic connotation of 'death' in fixed compounds (临终, 送终). The exact meaning in a given word is usually determined by the other morpheme, so pay attention to the full compound.
b.f.
(bound form) endfinish(bound form) eventuallyfinallyafter all(bound form) wholeentire (of a duration)
Examples
- ，。Jīngguò nǔlì, wǒ zhōngyú xuéhuì le kāichē.Through effort, I finally learned to drive.
- 。Zhè bù liánxùjù yǐjīng bō dào zhōngjié le.This TV series has already aired to its end.
- ，。Tā zhōngnián dōu zài gōngsī gōngzuò, cóng méi huàn guò dānwèi.He worked at the company all year long and never changed jobs.
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