Sui Character

It can mean “complete,” “fulfill,” or “then,” depending on context.

In Chinese, 遂 can describe a wish being fulfilled or an action being carried through. In Classical Chinese, it can also link an earlier event to the next as “then” or “thereupon.” Historical grammar research traces this shift from a completion verb, through a time word meaning “afterward,” to a word linking events in sequence between the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period.

In Japanese, 遂に (ついに, tsuini) means “finally” or “at last”; 遂げる and compounds such as 遂行 describe seeing something through. The same character has no single meaning across the two languages.

Where does 遂 come from?

Its written trail reaches Western Zhou bronze inscriptions.

In pre-Qin bronze writing, 遂 was often written as 述. Shuowen, an early Chinese dictionary, describes an older form of 遂 as a variant of 述.

The graph combines 辵, a movement-related element, with 㒸, which supplies its sound. Early bronze inscriptions recorded royal commands, appointments, rituals, warfare, and contracts; 遂 belongs to that administrative and ritual writing world.

Someone sent me 遂. What should I do?

Ask for the surrounding word or sentence before translating it.

A bare 遂 could be Chinese writing about completion, a Classical Chinese sequence marker, or Japanese 遂に (“finally”). The language and context decide which reading fits.

With a Chinese compound, translate the whole word. In a Classical Chinese sentence, follow the events. If Japanese kana ついに follows, read 遂に as “finally.”