GrammarN12 min read2026-02-17

〜始末だ

Describe a situation that has deteriorated to an undesirable outcome — always used for negative results.

Meaning

This pattern expresses a result. It is used when a situation has ultimately ended in a bad or undesirable outcome. The result is always negative. The idiomatic expression 「この始末だ」 means "this is how things ended up" and conveys the speaker's exasperation.

Formation

Part of speechFormation
Verb (dictionary form)始末だ

Examples

  1. そそっかしい妹に家の掃除を任せたら、この始末だよ。割れた花びんを片付けて、バケツがひっくり返った床を僕が拭かなきゃならないんだ。
    I left the house cleaning to my scatterbrained little sister, and this is what happened. Now I have to clean up the broken vase and mop the floor where the bucket tipped over.

  2. 彼が納期を守らなかったせいで上司まで一緒に謝りに行く始末だった。
    Because he missed the deadline, it ended up with even the boss having to go apologize.

  3. あの警察官ときたら犯人を取り逃がした上、わたしの叔父を誤認逮捕するという始末だ。許せない。
    As for that police officer — not only did he let the criminal escape, he ended up wrongfully arresting my uncle. Unforgivable.

  4. 天気予報を見ていなかったので、傘を持たずに出かけてしまって、ずぶ濡れて帰る始末だ。
    Because I didn't check the weather forecast, I went out without an umbrella and ended up coming home completely soaked.

Summary

  • 「〜始末だ」 means "end up in the sorry state of..."
  • Attaches to Verbs (dictionary form)

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