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HSK 3

结束

to end; to finish

verbneutral1 episode
结
jié2nd tone
束
shù4th tone

HSK level

1
2
3
4
5
6
Pinyin
jiéshù
Part of speech
verb
Level
HSK 3
Strokes
16
Register
neutral
In episodes
1

Stroke order for 结束

结束 is written with 16 strokes (结: 9, 束: 7). The animation replays automatically.

What does 结束 mean?

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.

Note: Neutral in both speech and writing. Slightly more formal than 完 (wán) — 结束 frames the ending as an event with a boundary (a meeting, a war, a relationship), while 完 just means an action is done.

Character by character

结jiéto tie; knot; conclude
+
束shùto bind; bundle
=
结束

Memory hook: Two characters that both mean 'tie up / bind' — when you tie things off and bundle them away, it's over.

Hear 结束 in real episodes

结束 appears in 1 Fluentide podcast episode at natural native speed — each with the full Chinese script, pinyin, and line-by-line English translation.

He Took Steroids, Drank 24 a Day and Never Trained Once. At His First Bodybuilding Contest, He Came Last.结束 spoken at natural speedmedium
Browse the full episode library

Example sentences

会议十点结束。

Huìyì shí diǎn jiéshù.

The meeting ends at ten.

neutral

电影已经结束了。

Diànyǐng yǐjīng jiéshù le.

The movie is already over.

spoken

我们今天就到这儿，结束！

Wǒmen jīntiān jiù dào zhèr, jiéshù!

Let's stop here for today, we're done!

spoken

这次比赛什么时候结束？

Zhè cì bǐsài shénme shíhou jiéshù?

When does this match end?

neutral

会议结束后，请大家留下。

Huìyì jiéshù hòu, qǐng dàjiā liú xià.

After the meeting ends, please everyone stay.

written, formal

Common phrases with 结束

会议结束huìyì jiéshùthe meeting ends
结束工作jiéshù gōngzuòto finish work / wrap up work
比赛结束bǐsài jiéshùthe match is over
结束关系jiéshù guānxito end a relationship
刚刚结束gānggāng jiéshùjust ended

Synonyms

完wán

完 attaches to another verb as a result complement (吃完 = finished eating, 看完 = finished watching). 结束 is a standalone verb for events ending. You say 电影结束了 or 看完电影了, not 电影完了 in formal contexts.

完成wánchéng

完成 means 'to complete (successfully)' — it emphasizes a task was accomplished. 结束 just means something stopped. A meeting can 结束 without anyone 完成 their goals.

停止tíngzhǐ

停止 means 'to stop,' often abruptly or by intervention (停止合作 = stop cooperating). 结束 is a natural conclusion at the planned endpoint.

Don't confuse 结束 with

结果jiéguǒ

结果 means 'result; outcome' (noun) or 'as a result' (connector). 结束 means 'to end.' Same first character 结 but different meanings — 结束 is the act of ending, 结果 is what came out of it.

结婚jiéhūn

结婚 means 'to get married.' Same 结 but the second character 婚 (marriage) makes the meaning unrelated to ending.

FAQ

Related words from the same episodes

初赛preliminary round打分to score, to mark肌肉muscle健美bodybuilding结果result决赛final round觉得to feel, to think可能possibly名次placing, rank网友people online训练to train一般generally

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