3082
Are there any differences between using おしまい {oshimai} and おわり {owari} to mean
"the end" (both with neutral and negative connotations)? Are they always
interchangeable?

E.g:

> テスト失敗したらおわりだぜ。
>
> テスト失敗したらおしまいだぜ。
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-09-08T09:45:31.480
3071
2016-01-15T06:37:04.750
2020-06-17T08:18:27.500
-1
112
question
word-choice nuances
おしまい {oshimai} vs おわり {owari}
On the one hand, I think that おしまい is mostly used to close an event or a
ceremony, something that has been willingly started. So your second sentence
sounds weird to me.

On the other hand, I think that おわり is not something you control. Your
sentence says it's over, not that you stopped it.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-09-09T02:29:10.913
3081
2011-09-09T02:29:10.913
356
3071
answer
I don't think there's really much difference in meaning or connotation,
although おしまい sounds more formal to me, probably because it has the honorific
お attached. OTOH, I've never seen お仕舞い at the end of a movie, so maybe there
are differences in customary usage. {EDIT: The following is inaccurate: 終わる is
also used transitively} One difference is that you can "おしまいにする" something,
whereas you can't "おわりにする" things, because of the transitive/intransitive
pairing 終える/終わる.(END EDIT, see comments)

In your example sentences (incidentally, you need to stick a "に" in them), I
don't think there's a dime's worth of difference between the two. They both
mean "I'm done for, it's all over, the jig is up, put a fork in me, Goodnight
Irene."
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-09-09T03:11:20.580
3082
2011-09-09T18:41:19.113
2011-09-09T18:41:19.113
634
634
3071
answer
"Oshimai" can be formal, but it is also used with small children. I would
translate it as something like "We're done with that now" or "We're moving on"

"Owari" has more of a feeling of finality, as in "We won't be coming back to
this again" or "That time has passed."

I agree with previous comments on the grammar of it all, but the connontation
is important as well.

Source: I teach K-12 in Japan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-15T06:37:04.750
30432
2016-01-15T06:37:04.750
12223
3071
answer