When you learn Japanese, you'll notice that many actions have a natural timeline: start doing → keep doing → finish doing. Japanese expresses this beautifully with compound verbs — just attach 始める, 続ける, or 終わる to the masu-stem of another verb.
In this article, we'll cover these "time-phase" compound verbs in full, plus two more useful companions: ～直す and ～上がる.
Timeline Overview
Here's how to visualize the full timeline of an action:
～始める ～続ける ～終わる
┃ ┃ ┃
▼ ▼ ▼
[Start] ———→ [Continue] ———→ [Finish]
Let's look at each one.
～始める (hajimeru): Start Doing Something
Attach 始める to the masu-stem to express "start doing..."
| Compound Verb | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 食べ始める | たべはじめる | start eating |
| 読み始める | よみはじめる | start reading |
| 降り始める | ふりはじめる | start falling (rain/snow) |
| 走り始める | はしりはじめる | start running |
| 使い始める | つかいはじめる | start using |
雨が降り始めたので、傘を出しました。 → It started raining, so I pulled out my umbrella.
最近、日本語の小説を読み始めました。 → I recently started reading Japanese novels.
始める vs 出す: What's the Difference?
You may have also seen ～出す used to mean "start." The key difference is:
| Compound Verb | Nuance | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 泣き始める | Start crying (neutral, matter-of-fact) | 赤ちゃんが泣き始めた。→ The baby started crying. |
| 泣き出す | Burst into tears (sudden, unexpected) | 赤ちゃんが急に泣き出した。→ The baby suddenly burst into tears. |
Simple rule: 始める = naturally start, 出す = suddenly start.
Here are a few more comparisons:
| ～始める (natural) | ～出す (sudden) |
|---|---|
| 降り始める → start raining | 降り出す → suddenly start pouring |
| 笑い始める → start laughing | 笑い出す → burst out laughing |
| 走り始める → start running | 走り出す → suddenly break into a run |
～終わる (owaru): Finish Doing Something
Attach 終わる to express "finish doing..."
| Compound Verb | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 食べ終わる | たべおわる | finish eating |
| 読み終わる | よみおわる | finish reading |
| 書き終わる | かきおわる | finish writing |
| 話し終わる | はなしおわる | finish speaking |
レポートを書き終わったら、遊びに行こう。 → Once I finish writing the report, let's go have fun.
映画を見終わって、カフェに行きました。 → After finishing the movie, we went to a cafe.
終わる vs 上がる: Both Mean "Complete"?
～上がる also carries a sense of completion, but it emphasizes the finished product — something is "done" as in "ready."
| Compound Verb | Nuance |
|---|---|
| 書き終わる | Finished writing (the act is over) |
| 書き上がる | The writing is complete (the work is done) |
| 出来上がる | Something is ready/done (a finished product) |
| 仕上がる | Something is finished/polished (carefully completed) |
料理が出来上がりました。 → The food is ready.
レポートがやっと仕上がった。 → The report is finally finished.
～続ける (tsuzukeru): Keep Doing, Continue
Attach 続ける to express "keep doing... / continue to do..."
| Compound Verb | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 走り続ける | はしりつづける | keep running |
| 待ち続ける | まちつづける | keep waiting |
| 考え続ける | かんがえつづける | keep thinking |
| 努力し続ける | どりょくしつづける | keep making efforts |
| 信じ続ける | しんじつづける | keep believing |
雨が３日間降り続けています。 → It has been raining for three straight days.
彼女は夢を追い続けている。 → She keeps chasing her dream.
～続ける often carries a nuance of perseverance — doing something despite difficulty. It sounds very natural in contexts about determination and grit.
～直す (naosu): Redo, Do Over
The verb 直す on its own means "to fix" or "to correct." As a compound suffix, it means "to redo" — you do something again because the first attempt wasn't satisfactory.
| Compound Verb | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| やり直す | やりなおす | redo |
| 書き直す | かきなおす | rewrite |
| 作り直す | つくりなおす | remake |
| 考え直す | かんがえなおす | reconsider |
| 見直す | みなおす | review / reassess |
| 出直す | でなおす | start over (come back fresh) |
この文章は分かりにくいから、書き直してください。 → This passage is hard to understand, so please rewrite it.
一度考え直したほうがいいですよ。 → You should reconsider.
Note that 見直す is special: beyond "re-examine," it can also mean "to change one's opinion (usually for the better)."
彼のことを見直した。 → I changed my opinion of him (for the better).
～上がる (agaru): Complete / Rise Up
上がる as a compound suffix has two main directions of meaning:
(1) Completion (the finished product emerges)
| Compound Verb | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 出来上がる | できあがる | be completed, be ready |
| 仕上がる | しあがる | be finished (polished) |
| 焼き上がる | やきあがる | be done baking/grilling |
パンが焼き上がりました。 → The bread is done baking.
(2) Upward Movement (physical direction)
全員が立ち上がって拍手した。 → Everyone stood up and applauded.
パーティーが盛り上がってきた。 → The party started to liven up.
Complete Reference Table
| Suffix Verb | Core Meaning | Key Examples |
|---|---|---|
| ～始める | start doing | 食べ始める, 降り始める |
| ～続ける | continue doing | 走り続ける, 待ち続ける |
| ～終わる | finish doing | 食べ終わる, 読み終わる |
| ～直す | redo | やり直す, 書き直す |
| ～上がる | complete / rise | 出来上がる, 立ち上がる |
| ～出す | suddenly start | 泣き出す, 降り出す |
Summary
- Japanese uses ～始める → ～続ける → ～終わる to map out the timeline of an action
- ～始める is a natural start; ～出す is a sudden start
- ～終わる emphasizes the action ending; ～上がる emphasizes the finished product
- ～続ける expresses continuation, often with a nuance of perseverance
- ～直す means to redo or do over
- ～上がる has both "completion" and "upward" meanings
Practice Quiz
Q1. What's the difference between 「泣き始める」 and 「泣き出す」?
Show Answer
- 泣き始める → Start crying (neutral, factual description)
- 泣き出す → Burst into tears (unexpected, sudden onset)
始める is a plain "begin," while 出す implies the action erupts suddenly.
Q2. How do you say "Please rewrite this email" in Japanese? (メール + 書き直す)
Show Answer
このメールを書き直してください。
書き直す = rewrite. Add the te-form + ください for a polite request.
Q3. What does 「料理が出来上がった」 mean? How is it different from 「料理を作り終わった」?
Show Answer
Both mean "the food is done," but the nuance differs:
- 出来上がった → The food is ready (emphasis on the finished product being complete)
- 作り終わった → Finished cooking (emphasis on the action of cooking being over)
出来上がる focuses on the result; 作り終わる focuses on the process ending.