And now look where it's ended up: 〜始末だ
Verb (dictionary or ない) + 始末だ ／ この始末だ
V (dictionary) + 始末だ: “and now he's even gone as far as…”, the dismaying outcome of a series of bad behaviour. この始末だ: “look at the result”. Always critical.
In short
〜始末だ caps a series of bad behaviour with its sorry outcome: “and now he's gone so far as to…”. The speaker recounts a decline, often with ついに or とうとう, and expresses exasperation. Always negative, often about someone else. Critical register, written or careful speech.
- 彼は遅刻を重ね、ついには連絡もせずに欠勤する始末だ。かれはちこくをかさね、ついにはれんらくもせずにけっきんするしまつだ。He kept turning up late, and now he's even taking days off without letting anyone know.
- 息子はゲームばかりして、とうとう学校をやめると言い出す始末だ。むすこはげーむばかりして、とうとうがっこうをやめるといいだすしまつだ。My son does nothing but play video games, and now he's even talking about leaving school.
- あれほど注意したのに、この始末だ。あれほどちゅういしたのに、このしまつだ。I warned him, and look at the result.
The basics
始末 refers to the end of an affair, its outcome (you also find it in 後始末, “clearing up afterwards”). So 〜始末だ announces the outcome of a story that's going wrong: after a series of increasingly serious behaviour, you reach a dismaying point — English “it's come to this”, “now he's even…”.
The sentence often recounts the escalation in its first half (〜を重ね, 〜ばかりして) and caps it with ついには or とうとう.
He kept turning up late, and now he's even taking days off without letting anyone know.
- noun
- verb
- other
- grammatical form
- 彼女は文句ばかり言って、最後には会議中に席を立つ始末だった。かのじょはもんくばかりいって、さいごにはかいぎちゅうにせきをたつしまつだった。She did nothing but complain, and in the end she walked out in the middle of the meeting.
How to form it
The verb goes in the dictionary form (or in ない), even when recounting the past: it's 始末 that carries the tense (始末だった). この始末だ is used on its own, pointing at the result.
| Construction | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| V (dictionary) + 始末だ | 家を売る始末だ | he's gone as far as selling his house |
| V in ない + 始末だ | 返事もしない始末だ | he doesn't even reply any more |
| V + 始末だった | 道で寝る始末だった | he ended up sleeping in the street |
| この始末だ | 注意したのに、この始末だ | and look at the result |
- 部下に何を頼んでも、返事さえしない始末だ。ぶかになにをたのんでも、へんじさえしないしまつだ。Whatever I ask my subordinate to do, he doesn't even bother replying any more.
- 子どもに任せたら、台所がこの始末だ。こどもにまかせたら、だいどころがこのしまつだ。I left it to the children, and look at the state of the kitchen.
始末だ, 羽目になる, 結果, ことになる
〜羽目になる (N2) describes an unpleasant situation you end up in yourself, often through bad luck: 残業する羽目になった. 〜始末だ rather judges the behaviour of someone else who's sinking ever lower. 〜結果 and 〜ことになる are neutral and can even announce a good outcome.
| Expression | Who? | Tone |
|---|---|---|
| 〜始末だ | often someone else, through their own fault | exasperation, criticism |
| 〜羽目になる | often yourself, against your will | frustration, bad luck |
| 〜結果 | anyone | neutral |
| 〜ことになる | anyone | neutral, decision or outcome |
- 終電を逃して、駅で朝まで待つ羽目になった。しゅうでんをのがして、えきであさまでまつはめになった。I missed the last train and had to wait at the station until morning. (羽目になる)
- 話し合いの結果、計画を延期することになった。はなしあいのけっか、けいかくをえんきすることになった。After discussing it, we decided to postpone the project. (neutral)
Common mistakes
- Using it for a good outcome: “努力して、ついに合格する始末だ” is absurd. 始末だ only caps disasters.
- Putting the verb in the past before 始末: you say 寝る始末だった, not “寝た始末だ”.
- Confusing it with 羽目になる: to talk about your own bad luck, 羽目になる is more natural.
8 exercises on this point
Particles to choose, sentences to put back in order, translations: marked straight away, then reviewed at the right time. This JLPT N1 point is on the Akita Line (Literature and poetry) of the Shinkansen.