末期

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 末期 is read as まっき and means the final stage or late period of a process or era.
• Basic usage: It can describe the final years of the Edo period or the final stage of a disease.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• The late part of an era
  • 末期 means the final period as the Edo era approached its end. Example: 江戸時代の末期には社会が大きく変化した。
• The final stage of a disease
  • 末期 means the last stage reached as an illness progresses. Example: 医師は病気が末期に進む前の治療が大切だと説明した。