The kanji 終 primarily means "end," "finish," "complete," or "terminal." It conveys the idea of something reaching its conclusion or the ultimate point. It can also imply the final stages or the cessation of an action or event.

・On-yomi (音読み): ・シュウ (shū) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): ・お終わる (o終waru) - to end, to finish ・お終える (o終eru) - to end, to finish (transitive)

⚫︎授業（じゅぎょう）を終わる Translation: To finish class. ⚫︎今週（こんしゅう）は今日（きょう）で終わりです。 Translation: This week ends today. ⚫︎プロジェクトが終了（しゅうりょう）した。 Translation: The project was completed.

The kanji 終 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字, keisei moji). It combines the radical 糸 (いと, ito - thread) with the phonetic 宗 (しゅう, shū - meaning ancestor, origin, or lineage; also related to the sound). The meaning originated from winding up a skein of thread, implying the end of the process. Over time, it broadened to represent the general concept of "end" or "finish." The original shape depicts a knot at the end of a thread, representing the end of a process.