modality N1 uncommon casualwritten
それまでだ — that's the end of it
それまでだ
Meaning
- that's the end of it / that's that / there's nothing more to be done — once a certain thing happens, the matter is finished and no recovery is possible
Resigned finality — marks a point of no return; often a warning that everything would be lost if the stated thing occurs.
Key sentence
ここであきらめたら、それまでだ。
If you give up here, that's the end of it.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Stands alone as a clause, usually after a conditional or a stated event | 〔条件・出来事〕、それまでだ | 失敗したら、それまでだ |
Examples
どんなに貯金しても、使ってしまえばそれまでだ。
No matter how much you save, once you spend it, that's that.
チャンスを逃せば、それまでだ。
Miss the chance and it's all over.
Easily confused with
〜ばそれまでだ ばそれまでだ is the explicit conditional frame ('if ~, then that's the end'); それまでだ on its own follows whatever event or condition has just been mentioned. 〜までのことだ までのことだ downplays an action as 'simply the thing to do'; それまでだ marks an outcome as final and irrecoverable — a dead end, not a fallback.
See それまでだ in real sentences
Jengo shows それまでだ the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled from published Japanese grammar references.