How to Say “Complete” in German

Ways to say it

The way you translate 'complete' depends on whether you are finishing a process, producing an object or describing something as having no missing parts. Use beenden for bringing an activity or a process to a formal end. Use fertigstellen when you are specifically completing the production or construction of a physical object or a formal document. If you mean 'complete' in the sense that nothing is missing from a set or a collection, use vollständig. Other adjectives meaning 'complete' in the sense of 'entire' or 'full' include ganz, komplett and vollständig.

Which one should you use?

Use beenden for finishing or ending an activity. Use fertigstellen for the specific act of finalizing or completing the production of something physical or a document. The colloquial term fertigmachen can be used to say one is finishing a task, but be aware that in different contexts it can also mean to destroy or to exhaust someone.

Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?

fertigmachen is a colloquial alternative for finishing a task.

Related words

Finished, ended, concluded, completed (adj): abgeschlossen, beendet.

With everything included (adj): ganz, komplett, vollständig.

How does it change in a sentence?

The word beendet is the past participle of beenden and functions as an adjective to describe something that has reached its conclusion. The word abgeschlossen is the past participle of abschließen and is commonly used to describe completed studies, projects or locked doors. For the adjective vollständig, note that vollständige is the feminine nominative case form. The adjectives abgeschlossen and beendet can both be used to mean 'finished', 'ended', 'concluded' or 'completed'.