结束

结束 (jiéshù) is a verb meaning 'to end,' 'to come to an end,' or 'to bring to a close.' It applies to events, activities, periods, or relationships that have a clear beginning and a clear stopping point — a meeting, a class, a war, a marriage, a movie. Unlike English 'finish,' which often implies you completed a task, 结束 simply marks that something is over; whether it was successfully completed is a separate question.

It can be intransitive ('the meeting ended') or transitive ('end the meeting'). Compared to 完 (wán), which attaches to a verb to mean 'done doing it' (吃完 chī wán = finished eating), 结束 is a standalone verb that frames the ending itself. The opposite is 开始 (kāishǐ), and the pair 开始⋯⋯结束 is the standard way to bracket a span of time.