terminar
/teɾmiˈnaɾ/
To finish in Spanish is terminar.
terminar is used to express bringing an activity or task to an end. If you want to say you have finished performing a specific action, you should use the construction terminar de followed by the infinitive of that action.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Spain, the phrase dar por terminado is used to emphasize that an action has been completed.
How does it change in a sentence?
The first-person singular preterite form of terminar is terminé, which means 'I finished'.
How do you pronounce it?
/teɾmiˈnaɾ/
Did you know?
- In Spanish, terminar is often used to describe a romantic breakup, such as terminamos, which means 'we broke up' rather than just 'we finished'.
- The phrase acabar de followed by an infinitive creates a unique tense that means something has just happened in the very recent past, such as acabo de terminar meaning 'I have just finished'.
- The word terminar shares the same Latin root as the English word 'terminus', which refers to a boundary or an end point.
Examples in context
- Tengo que terminar esto.I've got to finish this.This sentence uses terminar to express a necessity to finish a task.Tatoeba #13478508 by Seael, translation #2359724 by CK
- ¿Cuándo vas a terminarlo?When are you going to finish this?This sentence uses terminar to ask when an action will be completed.Tatoeba #1331652 by Shishir, translation #958988 by CM
- Necesito terminar mi tarea.I need to finish my homework.This sentence uses terminar to express a need to finish homework.Tatoeba #1428324 by marcelostockle, translation #1140169 by CK
- Necesitamos concluir el informe.We need to finish the report
- El proyecto está a punto de terminar.The project is about to finish
- El evento culminará con un discurso.The event will culminate with a speech
- Las negociaciones finalizarán pronto.The negotiations will soon finish
- Terminemos de comer para poder irnos.Let's finish eating so we can go
- Finalizaron sus vacaciones.They finished their vacation
- Acabo de comerI just finished eating
- Doy por terminada la carrera.I consider the race finished
- Terminé de leer el libro.I finished reading the book.
- 122 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Elena and Alejandro are working in an office.
- Elena¿Vas a terminar el informe hoy, Alejandro?Are you going to finish the report today, Alejandro?
- AlejandroSí, quiero terminar todo antes de las cinco.Yes, I want to finish everything before five.
- ElenaPerfecto, yo también debo terminar mis tareas.Perfect, I must finish my tasks too.
- AlejandroEntonces, terminemos rápido para irnos a casa.Then, let's finish quickly so we can go home.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry terminar, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries terminar, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
