noun
Especially common for the end of a time span such as a month, year, term, or period.
今月の末に引っ越します。
I will move at the end of this month.
adverb, noun
after; at the end of; finally after
Used in patterns such as 〜の末 and 〜した末 to mean that something happened after a process, effort, hesitation, discussion, or struggle.
After long discussions, the plan was canceled.
いろいろ考えた末に、彼は会社を辞めることにした。
After thinking it over in many ways, he decided to leave the company.
noun
Refers to the far end or tip of something. In modern everyday Japanese, 先 or 端 is often more ordinary for physical tips; this use of 末 can sound somewhat literary or set-phrase-like.
枝の末に小さな芽が出ている。
A small bud is growing at the tip of the branch.
noun, noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no'
youngest child; youngest sibling
Used before の, as in 末の弟 or 末の娘. The compound 末っ子 is the common standalone word for the youngest child.
See also: 末っ子
末の弟はまだ高校生だ。
My youngest brother is still in high school.
noun
descendants; offspring; posterity
Usually appears as 〜の末, meaning a descendant or later member of a family or lineage. It is relatively literary or historical in tone; 末裔 is often used in modern explanatory prose.
物語では、彼は平家の末として描かれる。
In the story, he is portrayed as a descendant of the Taira clan.
noun
future; future prospects
Often used in evaluative expressions about how someone's or something's future may turn out, such as 末が楽しみだ or 末が案じられる.
この子は末が楽しみだ。
This child has a promising future.
noun, noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no'
trifle; trivial matter
Limited and idiomatic use for something unimportant, especially in expressions like 末の末. It is not a freely productive everyday noun for 'trifle.'
今は命が助かっただけで十分で、金のことは末の末だ。
For now, it is enough that we survived; money is a mere trifle.
noun
degenerate age; world gone bad
Most visible in fixed expressions such as 世も末だ or 世の末, used when lamenting moral decline or a world that seems hopelessly corrupt.
こんな詐欺が横行するとは、世も末だ。
For scams like this to be everywhere, the world really has gone bad.
A general word for an end or finish. 末 is more often used for the last part of a period, the result after a process, future prospects, lineage, or fixed expressions.
The ordinary word for an edge or physical end. 末 can mean a tip or extremity, but that physical use is more literary or restricted.
The common standalone noun for the youngest child. 末 is used more adjectivally in phrases such as 末の娘.
A broad neutral word for the future. 末 as 'future' is common in evaluative set phrases about prospects, such as 末が楽しみだ.
すえ is a native Japanese reading conventionally written with 末, a kanji associated with an end, tip, or final stage. The historical derivation of the native word is not specified.