Starts and ends: 始まる and 終わる

Mental Model: Events Unfolding on Their Own

In English, the verb “start” does double duty: you say “The movie starts at 7:00” (spontaneous event) and “I start the movie” (active human agency).

Japanese draws a razor-sharp line between events that unfold on their own and actions that a person actively instigates. To announce schedules, classes, meetings, and movies, Japanese uses the intransitive pair 始まる(はじまる) (hajimaru) and 終わる(おわる) (owaru):

• The event begins: [Event] + が / は + 始まります(はじまります)
• 映画が始まります(えいががはじまります): “The movie is starting.”
• 会議は9時に始まります(かいぎはくじにはじまります): “The meeting starts at 9:00.”
• The event ends: [Event] + が / は + 終わります(おわります)
• 授業が終わりました(じゅぎょうがおわりました): “Class has finished.”
• 仕事は5時に終わります(しごとはごじにおわります): “Work ends at 5:00.”

Because these are intransitive verbs, the event is marked with が or は — never with the object particle を! Saying *映画を始まります is a fundamental error.

Transitive Twins: 始める and 終える

When an active human agent initiates or completes an action, Japanese switches to the transitive twins:

• Transitive pair (Agent + Object を):
• 始める(はじめる) (hajimeru): To actively start something.
• 先生が授業を始めます(せんせいがじゅぎょうをはじめます): “The teacher starts the lesson.”
• 終える(おえる) (oeru): To actively bring something to completion.
• 研究を終えました(けんきゅうをおえました): “I finished my research.”

Notice the vowel pairing: • -aru (Intransitive): 始まる(はじまる) (happens spontaneously) • -eru (Transitive): 始める(はじめる) (caused by someone)

Compound Verbs: Verb Stem + 始める / 終わる

You can attach 始める and 終わる directly to the ます-stem of any action verb to express the beginning or completion of that action:

• Verb Stem + 始める (Start doing):
• 食べます → 食べ始める(たべはじめる): “to start eating.”
• 書きます → 書き始める(かきはじめる): “to start writing.”
• 雨が降り始めました(あめがふりはじめました): “It started raining.”
• Verb Stem + 終わる (Finish doing):
• 読みます → 読み終わる(よみおわる): “to finish reading.”
• この本を読み終わりました(このほんをよみおわりました): “I finished reading this book.”

Framing Boundaries: Clock Times vs Ranges

When stating exact start and finish times, choose the appropriate time particles:

• Exact starting point (に):
• コンサートは7時に始まります(こんさーとはしちじにはじまります): “The concert starts at 7:00.”
• Bounded range (から … まで):
• テストは9時から10時までです(てすとはくじからじゅうじまでです): “The test is from 9:00 to 10:00.”
• 昼休みは12時から1時までです(ひるやすみはじゅうにじからいちじまでです): “Lunch break is from 12:00 to 1:00.”