〜始末だ: 'It Ended Up Like This' (Meaning + Examples)
Summing up a bad outcome
〜始末だ closes out a sentence (often one that lists a series of poor choices or worsening events) with the final, regrettable result. The speaker's tone is usually critical — of themselves or of someone else.
やったんは無駄遣いばかりして、ついに貯金が底をつく始末だ。
やったんは むだづかいばかりして、ついに ちょきんが そこをつく しまつだ。
Yattan kept wasting money, and in the end his savings ran completely dry.
始末だ delivers the final, regrettable result of a pattern of bad spending.
モチは働きすぎて、とうとう倒れる始末だ。
モチは はたらきすぎて、とうとう たおれる しまつだ。
Mochi overworked himself, and in the end he collapsed.
二人は意見が合わず、最後には口も利かなくなる始末だ。
ふたりは いけんが あわず、さいごには くちも きかなくなる しまつだ。
The two of them couldn't agree, and it got to the point where they stopped speaking to each other altogether.
Attaching after a verb (plain form)
〜始末だ follows a verb in plain/dictionary form (or the base clause describing the final state), usually preceded by a build-up of events and words like ついに, とうとう, or 最後には.
| Comes after | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb, plain form | 動詞辞書形＋始末だ | 倒れる始末だ (it came to him collapsing) |
| A whole clause | 〜という始末だ | 謝りもしないという始末だ (he didn't even apologize — that's how bad it got) |
何度も注意したのに、また同じ失敗をする始末だ。
なんども ちゅういしたのに、また おなじ しっぱいを する しまつだ。
Despite warning him many times, he ended up making the same mistake again.
Implies the speaker's frustration at a repeated, avoidable outcome.
Don't confuse with 〜ことになる
〜ことになる neutrally states that a situation came about, without necessarily judging it — 引っ越すことになった ("it turned out that I'd move," could be good or bad news). 〜始末だ is never neutral: it's reserved for outcomes the speaker views as regrettable, embarrassing, or the predictable result of foolishness.
The short version
- 〜始末だ = "it ended up like this / such a state" — a critical, exasperated final result after a chain of bad events.
- Attaches to: verb (plain form) + 始末だ, often after ついに/とうとう/最後には.
- Nuance/register: always negative; implies criticism, regret, or exasperation.
- Don't confuse with: 〜ことになる, which is neutral and doesn't imply the outcome is bad.
Practice it
Choose 始末だ when the sentence caps a bad chain of events with a regrettable final outcome.
＿＿＿に入れるのに最もよいものを選びなさい。
無駄遣いばかりして、ついに＿＿＿。
Where 〜始末だ fits
Shaky on this? Get these solid first
- Past Tense · N5 — The plain past た-form means 'did.' It follows the same sound changes as the て-form (just て→た, で→だ): 食べた, 行った, 飲んだ. Learn it by verb group.
More N1 grammar to explore
Keep going with related patterns at the same level:
- 〜に対して — 〜に対して attaches to a noun and marks the target of an attitude or action ('toward'), sets up a contrast between two facts, or expresses a ratio ('per'). Before a following noun it becomes に対する.
- 〜といえども — 〜といえども attaches to a noun or plain form to mean 'even though / even if X' — 専門家といえども、すべてを知っているわけではない. Formal and literary, it concedes a status before stating a limit or exception to it.
- 〜とはいえ — 〜とはいえ is a formal 'although / that said' — it concedes a point just stated, then adds a contrasting fact that still holds despite it. Common in writing and formal speech to soften a contradiction.
- 〜のみならず — 〜のみならず means 'not only...but also,' formally adding a second, often larger point to what was just said — 世界中にのみならず (not only in this country but the whole world). It's the formal register cousin of 〜だけでなく.
- 〜であれ — 〜であれ attaches to a noun (often paired or with a question word) to mean 'whether... or' / 'no matter what' — 誰であれ ('no matter who'). It's a formal concessive used in written and rhetorical Japanese.
- 〜かたわら — 〜かたわら means 'while also (doing)' — a main job or role carried out alongside a second, ongoing activity. Formal and written, it implies both things run in parallel over time, not just once.