Grammar Info

N4 Lesson 2: 12/17

到頭(とうとう)Finally, After all

Structure

とうとう + Phrase

Details

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About とうとう

とうとう is an adverb that is used to express that something 'finally' happens. In Japanese, there are a few ways to do this, but とうとう is one of the more common. Coming from the kanji 到頭(とうとう), this structure literally means 到 (to arrive at), 頭 (the head of/crux of) something. Due to this, 'finally', and 'after all' are the two most common translations of とうとう. Like many other adverbs in Japanese, とうとう is often used at the beginning of a phrase/sentence.

While とうとう is written in hiragana the majority of the time, knowing the kanji will help when trying to remember the expression's nuance. That nuance is that something has 'ended', usually after some sort of long journey/effort.

This adverb may be used to express either positive or negative outcomes, as it focuses more on the time required to achieve the result, rather than the result being good or bad.

Caution

とうとう is not used in situations where you expect something to happen/start, but there has not actually been a period of time in which some sort of effort was made to achieve a result.

A good example of this is the changing of seasons. You might want to say 'finally, it's summer!', but this is not something that anyone has done anything to achieve. Rather, it came naturally. In these cases, いよいよ will be used, and has the nuance of 'finally', or 'at last' (in relation to something starting/happening).

  • いよいよ夏(なつ)来(き)た。
    Finally, summer has come. (Natural Japanese)

Examples

--:--

    到頭(とうとう)休(やす)みだ。

    Finally it is my day off.

    到頭(とうとう)タバコをやめた。

    I finally quit smoking.

    それを到頭(とうとう)捨(す)てた。

    I finally threw that away. (I threw that away after all)

    今日(きょう)痛(いた)みが到頭(とうとう)なくなった。

    Today the pain finally went away.

    到頭(とうとう)漢字(かんじ)の勉強(べんきょう)ができる。

    I can finally study kanji.

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とうとう – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (13 in total)

  • TimTimTimmey2

    TimTimTimmey2

    Sorry for the zombie, but I think this is the place to ask. At the end of the grammar point, there is a warning:

    Caution

    とうとう is not used in situations where you expect something to happen/start, but there has not actually been a period of time in which some sort of effort was made to achieve a result.

    A good example of this is the changing of seasons. You might want to say ‘finally, it’s summer!’, but this is not something that anyone has done anything to achieve. Rather, it came naturally. In these cases, いよいよ will be used, and has the nuance of ‘finally’, or ‘at last’ (in relation to something starting/happening).

    But the example used right above that is this:

    とうとう夏休みだ！

    I assume this sentence is in refference to summer break of school, in which case it would not be something someone made happen either, since it always happens at set intervals. Does it work here because it references summer vacation from...

  • IcyIceBear

    IcyIceBear

    I took it as an effort they achieved through schoolwork. Like “finally after working through school, we get a break! We made it to summer!” Kind of thing

  • TimTimTimmey2

    TimTimTimmey2

    Ahh that makes a lot of sense actually! Thank you so much!

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