When you're learning French, you'll quickly realize that knowing just one word for a common action isn't always enough. Take "to finish," for example. While finir is a great start, there are many other nuanced and natural ways to express this idea. Mastering these alternatives will not only enrich your vocabulary but also make your conversations sound much more authentic. Ready to wrap things up? Let's dive into 9 different ways to say "to finish" in French!

The standard 'to finish' – finir

Finir is the most common and versatile verb in French for expressing the idea of 'to finish,' 'to end,' or 'to complete' something.

As a regular -ir verb, finir follows a predictable conjugation pattern in the present tense: Je finis (I finish); Tu finis (You finish); Il/Elle/On finit (He/She/One finishes); Nous finissons (We finish); Vous finissez (You finish - plural/formal); Ils/Elles finissent (They finish).

Most often, finir is used transitively, meaning it takes a direct object. For example, you finish a task, a book, or a meal.

Finir can also be used intransitively, meaning it doesn't take a direct object. In this case, it often means 'to end' or 'to be over,' referring to an event or period.

To express 'to finish doing something,' you use the construction finir de followed by an infinitive verb.

Another common idiomatic expression is en finir avec, which means 'to be done with,' 'to put an end to,' or 'to get rid of' something or someone.

When forming the passé composé (past tense), finir uses the auxiliary verb avoir.

Finir can be used in both formal and informal contexts, making it a reliable choice for various situations.

💡 *Je finis mon travail. (I'm finishing my work.)
*Le film finit à 22h. (The movie finishes at 10 PM.)
*Nous avons fini de manger. (We have finished eating.)
*Il faut en finir avec cette situation. (We must put an end to this situation.)
*Tu finiras ce projet demain. (You will finish this project tomorrow.)

The common 'to finish' or 'to complete' – terminer

In French, when you want to express the idea of 'to finish' or 'to complete' something, one of the most common and versatile verbs you'll encounter is terminer.

Terminer directly translates to 'to finish,' 'to complete,' or 'to end.' It's widely used for tasks, projects, studies, meetings, or any activity that has a defined end point.

As a regular -er verb, terminer follows a predictable conjugation pattern, making it relatively straightforward for beginners to learn. For example, in the present tense, it conjugates like parler.

While terminer and finir are often interchangeable and mean 'to finish,' terminer can sometimes carry a slightly more formal or definitive nuance of bringing something to an end or completion, especially in written or professional contexts. Finir can be a bit more general, but both are very common.

Most commonly, terminer is used transitively, meaning it takes a direct object. You finish something. For instance, terminer un livre (to finish a book) or terminer un projet (to finish a project).

To express 'to finish doing something,' terminer is followed by the preposition de and an infinitive verb. For example, J'ai terminé de lire (I finished reading).

Terminer can also be used intransitively, meaning without a direct object, to simply state that something is ending or has ended, such as La réunion a terminé à 17h (The meeting ended at 5 PM). This is less common than its transitive use but still valid.

💡 * Il a terminé son travail. (He finished his work.)

Nous terminons nos études l'année prochaine. (We are finishing our studies next year.)

Tu as terminé de manger ? (Have you finished eating?)

La pièce se termine par une scène émouvante. (The play ends with a moving scene.)

J'espère terminer ce rapport avant la fin de la journée. (I hope to finish this report before the end of the day.)

The 'to complete' or 'to bring to an end' (often definitively) – achever

The French verb achever is a powerful term that primarily translates to 'to complete' or 'to finish'.

However, it often carries a stronger sense of finality or definitiveness than simpler verbs like finir or terminer. It implies bringing something to its ultimate conclusion, sometimes with a dramatic or conclusive implication.

Achever is a regular -ER verb, but it belongs to a group where the 'e' in the stem changes to an 'è' in certain conjugations (e.g., j'achève, tu achèves, il achève, but nous achevons, vous achevez). It is conjugated with avoir in compound tenses.

One common use of achever is to describe the completion of a task, project, or work. It suggests bringing something to its final, intended state, often after a long effort.

Beyond simple completion, achever can mean to bring something to its absolute end, often implying termination, destruction, or even death. This is where its 'definitive' nuance becomes very clear.

In a more intense or figurative context, achever can mean 'to finish off' or 'to put an end to,' especially in situations involving suffering or a final blow. For instance, achever un animal blessé means 'to put a wounded animal out of its misery'.

While finir and terminer generally mean 'to finish,' achever often implies a more thorough, complete, or conclusive end. Think of it as 'to bring to full completion' rather than just 'to stop' or 'to be done with'.

💡 * J'ai achevé mon roman hier soir. (I finished my novel last night.)

Le dernier coup de marteau a achevé la construction. (The last hammer blow completed the construction.)

La maladie l'a achevé en quelques semaines. (The illness finished him off in a few weeks.)

Il faut achever ce travail avant la fin de la journée. (We must complete this work before the end of the day.)

Les travaux d'Hercule furent achevés. (Hercules' labors were completed.)

The 'to close' or 'to conclude' (often for events or discussions) – clore

The verb clore primarily means 'to close' or 'to conclude,' particularly in the context of events, meetings, discussions, or debates. It implies bringing something to an end in a formal or definitive manner.

Unlike fermer, which is used for physically closing doors, windows, or shops, clore is reserved for abstract or temporal closures. Think of it as 'to bring to a close' or 'to wrap up' an activity or period.

Clore is an irregular verb in French, and its conjugation is often limited to certain tenses. It is most commonly encountered in the present, future simple, and conditional tenses, as some forms (like the past historic or imperfect subjunctive) are rarely, if ever, used.

You'll often find clore used when speaking about ending a session, a fiscal year, or a debate. Its past participle is clos (masculine singular), close (feminine singular), clos (masculine plural), closes (feminine plural).

💡 * Je clos la discussion pour aujourd'hui. (I am closing the discussion for today.)

Le juge clôt le dossier. (The judge closes the case.)

La conférence se clora demain soir. (The conference will conclude tomorrow evening.)

La séance est close. (The session is closed.)

Ils vont clore l'événement avec un feu d'artifice. (They are going to close the event with fireworks.)

The 'to perfect' or 'to put the finishing touches on' – parachever

The verb parachever translates to 'to perfect,' 'to complete,' or 'to put the finishing touches on' something.

It implies not just finishing an action, but bringing it to an ideal, ultimate, or highly satisfactory state, often after a long process.

Unlike more common verbs like finir or terminer, parachever belongs to a more formal or literary register. You'll often encounter it in written works, academic texts, or sophisticated speech.

While finir simply means 'to finish' and achever means 'to complete' (sometimes with a connotation of bringing to an end), parachever specifically conveys the idea of perfecting the task or work, bringing it to its zenith.

The prefix para- (from Latin per-) here reinforces the idea of thoroughness and completion to an exemplary standard. It's about achieving excellence and leaving no room for improvement.

💡 * L'artiste a parachevé son chef-d'œuvre après des années de travail.

Ce traité vise à parachever la paix entre les nations.

Les dernières modifications ont permis de parachever le design du produit.

Il lui restait une dernière tâche pour parachever son travail de recherche.

The informal 'to wrap up' or 'to finish' – boucler

While boucler literally means 'to buckle,' 'to curl,' or 'to loop,' in contemporary informal French, it's widely used to mean 'to finish,' 'to wrap up,' or 'to complete' a task or period of time. Think of it as a casual alternative to finir or terminer.

This usage is particularly common among younger generations and in casual conversations. You'll often hear it when someone is talking about finishing work, studies, a project, or even a period of time like a vacation. It implies bringing something to a definitive close.

Using boucler suggests not just finishing, but often a sense of finality or that a chapter is closed. For instance, 'boucler un dossier' means to finalize a file, implying all necessary steps are done. It can also imply a slight sense of relief or accomplishment after completing something.

It's important to remember that boucler in this sense is informal. While perfectly acceptable among friends or in relaxed settings, it might sound too casual in formal business meetings or academic contexts where achever, finir, or terminer would be more appropriate.

💡 * J'ai enfin bouclé mon rapport. (I finally wrapped up my report.)

On boucle ça avant la fin de la journée ? (Shall we finish this before the end of the day?)

Elle a bouclé ses études l'année dernière. (She finished her studies last year.)

On doit boucler le projet pour demain. (We need to finish the project for tomorrow.)

J'ai bouclé ma valise, on peut y aller. (I finished packing my suitcase, we can go.)

The 'to be done with' or 'to put an end to' (a situation) – en finir (avec)

The French expression en finir (avec) translates to “to be done with,” “to finish with,” or “to put an end to” a situation, a task, or even a relationship. It signifies a desire or action to bring something to a definitive close.

This phrase is always used with the preposition avec when specifying what one is done with or what is being ended. For instance, you would say en finir avec un problème (to be done with a problem). Note that it is not a reflexive verb like s'en aller; it's simply en finir.

En finir (avec) often carries a nuance of finality, resolution, or even exasperation. It implies a strong desire to terminate something that has been ongoing, perhaps bothersome, or simply needs to be concluded. It's more emphatic than just finir (to finish).

💡 * Je n'en peux plus, je veux en finir avec ce projet. (I can't take it anymore, I want to be done with this project.)

Il faut en finir avec cette mauvaise habitude. (We must put an end to this bad habit.)

Ils ont enfin en fini avec les négociations. (They have finally finished with the negotiations.)

Elle a décidé d'en finir avec son ancien travail. (She decided to put an end to her old job.)

J'espère qu'on va en finir avec cette situation difficile bientôt. (I hope we will be done with this difficult situation soon.)

The formal 'to put an end to' or 'to stop' – mettre un terme à

To express the formal idea of 'to put an end to' or 'to stop' something, French speakers often use the expression mettre un terme à.

This phrase directly translates to 'to put a term to' and signifies bringing something to a definitive close. It's used in more formal contexts than simpler verbs like arrêter (to stop) or finir (to finish).

Structurally, mettre un terme à is always followed by the preposition à and then a noun, indicating what is being concluded. For instance, you would say mettre un terme à la discussion (to put an end to the discussion) or mettre un terme à une relation (to end a relationship).

You'll frequently encounter mettre un terme à in official statements, legal documents, or when discussing significant decisions. It implies a deliberate and often decisive action to stop something permanently.

💡 * Le gouvernement a décidé de mettre un terme à ce projet. (The government decided to put an end to this project.)

Il faut mettre un terme à cette situation intenable. (We must put an end to this untenable situation.)

Elle souhaite mettre un terme à son contrat. (She wishes to terminate her contract.)

Ils ont mis un terme à leur collaboration. (They ended their collaboration.)

The 'to come to an end' or 'to reach completion' (a process) – arriver à terme

The French expression arriver à terme translates directly to 'to arrive at term' or 'to reach term.' It signifies that a process, project, or event has reached its completion or its intended end point. It implies a natural progression to a final stage.

This phrase is frequently used to describe projects, negotiations, or endeavors that have successfully concluded. It emphasizes the successful completion of a planned duration or objective. For instance, a long-term plan that has been executed could be said to have arrivé à terme.

One of its most common and specific uses is in the context of pregnancy. When a woman 'arrives à terme,' it means she has reached the full term of her pregnancy, typically around 40 weeks, and is ready to give birth. This usage is very prevalent in medical and everyday language.

Unlike simply 'ending,' arriver à terme often carries the nuance of successful completion or reaching a natural and expected conclusion. It suggests that the process ran its full course as anticipated, rather than being cut short or failing.

💡 * Le projet de construction est enfin arrivé à terme. (The construction project has finally come to an end/been completed.)

Elle est arrivée à terme de sa grossesse la semaine dernière. (She reached full term in her pregnancy last week.)

Les négociations sont arrivées à terme après des mois de discussions. (The negotiations came to a close after months of discussions.)

Nous espérons que le contrat arrivera à terme sans problème. (We hope the contract will reach its completion without problems.)

Are there other ways to say 'to finish' in French?

Our list features the most common ways to say 'to finish' in French. However, the French language is rich with verbs, and you'll find many alternatives depending on the nuance you want to convey, from completing a task to ending a relationship.

You can also do an online search for 'comment dire finir en ___' followed by a specific context, like 'un projet' (a project) or 'une discussion' (a discussion), to uncover more specialized terms.

You might find some interesting synonyms for finir or terminer. Of course, make sure to check a word’s definition and try to see it used in context before you use it.

Pay attention as you read, watch, and listen to things in French — you may discover different verbs and expressions to talk about finishing various actions or events.

And if you’re looking for a deeper dive into the nuances of 'to finish' or related verbs, the WordReference entry for finir is a great place to start!

I hope you found this article helpful. Here’s a thought to finish with: La perfection est atteinte non pas quand il n'y a plus rien à ajouter, mais quand il n'y a plus rien à enlever. (Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.) This quote from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry perfectly encapsulates the idea of a truly finished work.

9 ways to say "to finish" in French