This means you end up in a bad or hard situation. It happens because of something else that happened before.
Verb [dictionary form] + 羽目になるPrimary
This means you end up in a bad or hard situation. It happens because of something else that happened before.
終電を逃し、結局タクシーで帰る羽目になった。
I missed the last train and ended up having to go home by taxi.
そんなにゲームばかりしていると、夏休みの宿題を最終日に徹夜でやる羽目になるぞ。
If you keep playing games that much, you'll end up having to pull an all-nighter to do your summer homework on the last day.
同僚が急に辞めたため、彼の仕事まで引き受ける羽目になり、毎日残業している。
Because my colleague suddenly quit, I ended up having to take on his work as well, and now I'm working overtime every day.
安易に借金をしたばかりに、家を売る羽目になった。
Just because I carelessly took on debt, I ended up in the position of having to sell my house.
天気予報を確認しなかったが、幸い雨に降られてびしょ濡れになる羽目にはならなかった。
I didn't check the weather forecast, but luckily I didn't end up in the predicament of getting soaked by the rain.
This grammar shows you are stuck. You did not want this to happen. It feels like bad luck. You must deal with a tough problem.
This phrase is about a bad situation you cannot avoid. It is different from "~ageku" which means a bad result after a long time. It is also different from "~shimatsu da" which shows strong anger about a bad end. It is different from "~sue ni" which can be for good or bad results after a long time.
Don't use this when something good happens. For example, you wouldn't say "I ended up winning the lottery." This is only for bad things. It is often because of something you did or did not do.
Track your mastery
Kumi's KMT system tracks your mastery across kanji, vocabulary, grammar, and reading. Create a free account to use it on 220,000+ concepts.