Expressing "finally" with "zhongyu"

终于(zhōngyú) 表示经过很长时间的等待最后实现了愿望，通常都是说话人期待发生的事情，含喜悦、满意的感情色彩。终于(zhōngyú) expresses realization of a desire after waiting for a long time. Usually the speaker is looking forward to what’s going to happen. 终于(zhōngyú) also carries a feeling of joy and satisfaction.

Structure

跟英文的"finally"不一样的是，终于(zhōngyú) 不能单独使用，也不能放在主语前面或者句子的最后。而且，它必须要跟“了“连用，表示事情已经发生了。Different from the English “finally”, 终于(zhōngyú) can’t be used alone. It also can’t be put in front of the subject or at the end of the sentence. 终于(zhōngyú) needs to be used with “了“，to express that the action is completed.

Subj. + 终于 + Predicate + 了

The predicate part of the pattern can be a verb or an adjective.

Examples

• 你 终于 到 了 ！Nǐ zhōngyú dào le!You finally arrived!
• 咱们 终于 见面 了 ！Zánmen zhōngyú jiànmiàn le!We finally met each other!
• 你们 终于 明白 了 。Nǐmen zhōngyú míngbai le.You finally understood.
• 作业 终于 做 完 了 ！Zuòyè zhōngyú zuò wán le!I finally finished my homework!
• 飞机 终于 起飞 了 ！Fēijī zhōngyú qǐfēi le!The plane is finally taking off!
• 你们 终于 决定 了 。Nǐmen zhōngyú juédìng le.You finally made your decision.
• 饭 终于 做 好 了 。我 快 饿 死了 。Fàn zhōngyú zuò hǎo le. Wǒ kuài è sǐ le.Dinner is finally ready. I'm starving.
• 这个 愿望 终于 实现 了 ！Zhège yuànwàng zhōngyú shíxiàn le!This dream finally came true!
• 我们 找 了 两 个 多 小时 ，终于 找到 了 那 家 店 。Wǒmen zhǎo le liǎng gè duō xiǎoshí, zhōngyú zhǎodào le nà jiā diàn.We'd been looking for that shop for more than two hours. We finally found it.
• 这些 问题 终于 解决 了 。我们 应该 庆祝 一下 。Zhèxiē wèntí zhōngyú jiějué le. Wǒmen yīnggāi qìngzhù yīxià.These problems are finally resolved. We should celebrate!

See also

• Comparing "zongsuan" and “zhongyu"