Learn 済 in words for completing a task and in the compound 経済, economy.

The idea

済 has 11 strokes; follow the linked diagram. 済む（すむ）means something is finished or sufficient; 済ませる（すませる）means to get something done. In 済み（ずみ）, it marks an action as already completed. 経済（けいざい）uses the reading ざい.

Patterns to compare
Japanese wordReadingExample in context
済むすむThe preparations are complete.
済ませるすませるI finished my homework yesterday.
済みずみThis book is already read.
経済けいざいThe economy is changing.

Examples

  • 準備じゅんびが済すみました。The preparations are complete.
  • 昨日きのう、宿題しゅくだいを済すませました。I finished my homework yesterday.
  • 支払しはらいはもう済すんでいます。The payment has already been made.
  • この本ほんは読よみ済ずみです。This book is already read.
  • 経済けいざいは変かわっています。The economy is changing.
  • 電話でんわで済すみます。A phone call will be enough.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

済む and 済ませる differ in who completes the action: 準備が済む describes the preparations being complete, while 宿題を済ませる says someone finishes the homework. Do not read every 済 as す.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 済む in hiragana.

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    すむ

    済む is すむ. The intransitive verb describes something being finished or sufficient.

  2. Write the reading of 経済 in hiragana.

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    けいざい

    経済 is けいざい. Learn ざい as part of this complete compound meaning economy.

  3. Choose the missing kanji: 支払＿（しはらいずみ）［済／近］.

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    済

    済 makes 支払済, read しはらいずみ: payment has been completed. The suffix is read ずみ.

Use it today

Write 済 following the diagram, then cover the examples and explain the difference between 済む and 済ませる using a sentence of your own.