Ways to say it
| Spanish | IPA |
|---|---|
| acabar | /akaˈbaɾ/ |
| terminar | /teɾmiˈnaɾ/ |
| finir | /fiˈniɾ/ |
| finalizar | /finaliˈθaɾ/ /finaliˈsaɾ/ |
The primary meaning for these verbs is to be finished or to be terminated. While many forms exist, a specific grammatical construction with acabar changes its meaning: if you use acabar de followed by an infinitive, it means 'to have just (done something)'. Related nouns include muerte for death, fin or lado for an extreme part and fin (desus.) for an obsolete sense of extreme part.
Which one should you use?
Terminar is a very common synonym for acabar and they are often used interchangeably when describing the end of a task, a movie or a period of time. Finalizar is more formal than acabar and is frequently used in professional, administrative or official contexts to denote the formal completion of a process or event. For specific noun uses, término refers to an end in legal or contractual settings, while conclusión refers to the endpoint of a discussion, presentation or event.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The third-person singular preterite form of acabar is acabó, meaning 'it ended' or 'he/she finished'.
How do you pronounce it?
/akaˈbaɾ/
Did you know?
- The Spanish word acabar is closely related to the English word 'chapter' via the Latin 'caput', which means 'head'.
- The word cabo can mean the 'end' or 'conclusion' of something, but in a different context, it is the standard way to refer to a geographical 'cape'.
- While acabar means 'to end', it is used in the phrase acabar con alguien to mean 'to finish someone off' or 'to destroy someone'.
Examples in context
- No sé cómo acabará.I don't know how it will end.This sentence uses acabar to express uncertainty about an outcome.Tatoeba #7786248 by arh, translation #10129167 by Shishir
- Sí sé cómo acabará.I do know how it's going to end.This sentence uses acabar to express certainty about an outcome.Tatoeba #7786250 by arh, translation #9814507 by DJ_Saidez
- Esto no acabará nunca.This is never going to end.This sentence uses acabar to express that something will never reach an end.Tatoeba #2492 by Shishir, translation #1287 by CK
- El final del proyectoThe end of the project
- Al término del contratoAt the end of the contract
- La conclusión del informeThe end of the report
- El fin de la semanaThe end of the week
- TerminéI finished
- Acabo de leer el libroI just finished reading the book
- El final de la películaThe end of the movie
- Los finales felicesThe happy endings
- El cierre anticipadoThe early closure
- El cierre definitivoThe definitive end
- Puedes dejar tus respuestas al final del examen.You can leave your answers at the end of the exam.
- La conferencia llegó a su conclusión exitosamente.The conference reached its successful end.
- ¡Vamos a celebrar el fin de semana en la playa!Let's celebrate the weekend at the beach!
- La película tuvo un final inesperado.The movie had an unexpected ending.
- 86 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Sofía and Javier are waiting for a movie to finish.
- Sofía¿Cuándo acabará la película?When will the movie end?
- JavierCreo que acabará en diez minutos.I think it will end in ten minutes.
- SofíaEspero que acabe pronto.I hope it ends soon.
- JavierSí, ya casi acaba.Yes, it's almost ending.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “end” translations and entries acabar, terminar, finir, finalizar, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
