Spanish · Everyday Verbs

"to finish" in Spanish: terminar

terminar

Say it: tehr-mee-NAHR / tehr-MEE-noh / tehr-MEE-nahverb/teɾ.mi.ˈnaɾ/

To finish in Spanish is terminar. Say yo termino and el trabajo termina a las cinco. Acabar is a common synonym.

Homework

Yo termino la tarea después de cenar.
I finish homework after dinner.
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How to pronounce terminar

Say it

tehr-mee-NAHR / tehr-MEE-noh / tehr-MEE-nah

/teɾ.mi.ˈnaɾ/

tehr-mee-NAHR. Termino is tehr-MEE-noh; termina is tehr-MEE-nah.

"to finish" in Spanish: quick reference

SpanishEnglish
terminarto finish

Dictionary form.

yo terminoI finish

First person.

terminait/he/she finishes

Schedules.

terminamoswe finish

Group present.

terminadofinished

Done state.

How to use terminar in real life

  1. 1Homework

    Yo termino la tarea después de cenar.

    I finish homework after dinner.

    Yo termino.

  2. 2Shift

    El turno termina a las seis.

    The shift finishes at six.

    Termina.

  3. 3Meeting

    Terminamos la reunión temprano hoy.

    We finished the meeting early today.

    Terminamos.

Mistakes English speakers make with terminar

Incorrect: Yo terminar ahora.

Correct: Yo termino ahora.

Conjugate: yo termino.

Incorrect: Ya finish el libro.

Correct: Ya terminé el libro.

Use terminar, not English finish.

Good to know

Terminar and acabar both mean to finish in Latin America. Ya terminé is a common “I’m done.” Soft check-ins use ¿Ya terminaste?

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Wrapping up work

  1. ChatPal

    ¿Terminas el informe hoy?

    Will you finish the report today?

  2. You

    Termino en una hora.

    I’ll finish in an hour.

  3. ChatPal

    Perfecto. Yo termino las correcciones.

    Perfect. I’ll finish the edits.

  4. You

    Luego vamos por un café.

    Then let’s get a coffee.

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"to finish" in other languages

FAQ

Common questions about "to finish" in Spanish

I finish?

Yo termino.

How do you stress terminar?

tehr-mee-NAHR — stress the last syllable.

It finishes?

Termina.

I’m done?

Ya terminé.

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