終わる vs 済む
JLPT N4 vocabulary · what is the difference?
終わる simply means something reaches its end — 授業が終わる. 済む means a matter has been dealt with and is off your hands, usually with a note of relief: 手続きが済んだ. 済む also has a second use 終わる cannot copy — getting by with only something, as in 千円で済む.
When to use each
終わる
おわる
Neutral: a class, a film, a year or a task reaches its endpoint. Pairs happily with clock times — 五時に終わる. Use it whenever you simply mean 'finish', with no sense of a burden lifted.
映画は九時に終わります。
えいがはくじにおわります。
The film ends at nine.
長い冬がやっと終わった。
ながいふゆがやっとおわった。
The long winter is finally over.
済む
すむ
Something you had to get through is now dealt with — paperwork, an errand, an exam — and it carries relief. Also the patterns ～で済む, 'it only takes that much', and ～ないで済む, 'to get away without doing it'.
用事が済んだら電話します。
ようじがすんだらでんわします。
I'll call once I'm done with my errands.
修理は五千円で済みました。
しゅうりはごせんえんですみました。
The repair only came to five thousand yen.
Sentences where only one works
授業は三時に終わります。
じゅぎょうはさんじにおわります。
Class ends at three.
A scheduled endpoint. 済む would oddly suggest class was an obligation you got through.
引っ越しの手続きがやっと済みました。
ひっこしのてつづきがやっとすみました。
The moving paperwork is finally taken care of.
A troublesome duty now off your hands — the core use of 済む.
電話一本で済む話です。
でんわいっぽんですむはなしです。
It's something a single phone call would settle.
The ～で済む pattern. 終わる cannot be used this way at all.
傘があったので、濡れないで済んだ。
かさがあったので、ぬれないですんだ。
I had an umbrella, so I got away without getting wet.
～ないで済む means avoiding something unpleasant, and is again exclusive to 済む.
Common mistakes
映画が済みました。
映画が終わりました。
A film is not a chore you dispatch. For something simply reaching its end, use 終わる.
千円で終わりました。
千円で済みました。
'Getting by with just this much' is the ～で済む pattern, and 終わる has no such meaning.
済むは何時ですか。
終わるのは何時ですか。
Asking what time something ends is 終わる. 済む rarely attaches to a clock time, because it is about the matter being settled rather than the moment it stops.
Frequently asked questions
Are 仕事が終わる and 仕事が済む both fine?
Yes, and here they genuinely overlap. 終わる says the workday is over, while 済む adds a small note of relief that the job is off your plate. Either sounds natural.
Is this 済む the same word as 住む?
Same reading, different kanji and different meaning. Context keeps them apart — 東京に住む is residing, 用事が済む is finishing. There is also 澄む, 'to become clear'.
What does すみません really come from?
It is the negative of 済む: literally 'this is not settled', meaning what I did cannot be put right. That is why it serves both as an apology and as a thank-you, and it is usually written in kana.