Japanese with Manga

Managing to distribute all fliers with 〜終える

Grammar Explanation: Managing to complete an action with 〜終える

Manga panel from ご注文はうさぎですか？ showing example of Managing to distribute all fliers with 〜終える.
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Cocoa encounters Syaro standing outside.

ココア:
「今日(きょう)はチラシ配(くば)り？」
“You're handing out fliers today?”
シャロ:
「全部(ぜんぶ)配(くば)り終(お)えるまで帰(かえ)れないわ」
“I can't go home until I finish handing out all of them.”
Literal: “I can't go home until I finish handing out all of them.”

Key Points

1配(くば)り終(お)える = finish handing them all out
  • 〜終(お)える attaches to the verb stem, so 配(くば)る becomes 配(くば)り終(お)える.
  • Here it means completing the whole flier-distribution task, with the feeling of getting through it rather than merely stopping.
2全部(ぜんぶ)(を) is the omitted object
  • In full form, 全部(ぜんぶ)を配(くば)り終(お)える means “finish handing out all of them”.
  • The を is omitted because the object is clear from Cocoa’s previous line about fliers.
3〜まで帰(かえ)れない = can’t go home until …
  • The clause before まで gives the endpoint Syaro has to reach before going home.
  • 全部(ぜんぶ)配(くば)り終(お)えるまで帰(かえ)れない means she cannot go home until the entire task is complete.

Vocabulary

(Today)

今日(きょう) means today. In formal writing, it can also mean the present day or current era.

(Whole)

全部(ぜんぶ) means everything or the whole, with nothing left out.

See Also

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