year-end; end of the year; last days of the year
Refers to the final days of the year, especially the busy period around late December. Often used in contexts of year-end preparations, financial settlements, or seasonal greetings.
As the year-end approaches, the streets become bustling.
I offer you year-end greetings.
年の瀬 and 年の暮れ are near-synonyms both meaning 'the end of the year,' but 年の瀬 appears mainly in set phrases like 年の瀬を迎える, while 年の暮れ is used more freely in daily speech.
Standard kanji spelling; the most common written form.
Alternate kanji spelling using 歳; less common but still encountered.
The expression combines 年 (year) and 瀬 (shallows, rapids), metaphorically likening the end of the year to a swift, narrow passage that must be crossed. The exact historical origin is uncertain, but it has been used since at least the Edo period.