La pado finiĝas ĉe kruciĝo.

In Esperanto, nouns normally end in -o. So pado is a noun meaning path.

You can also see the plural and object endings built onto that:

• pado = path
• padoj = paths
• padon = path (direct object)
• padojn = paths (direct object)

La is the definite article, meaning the. It does not change for number or case.

So:

• la pado = the path
• pado = a path / path depending on context

Esperanto has no separate word for a/an, so the absence of la often gives that indefinite sense.

Finiĝas comes from the idea to come to an end / to end.

It can be broken down like this:

• fin- = end, finish
• -iĝ- = become, get into a state
• -as = present tense

So finiĝas literally has the sense of becomes ended or comes to an end.

That is why La pado finiĝas means The path ends.

This is a very common learner question.

• fini usually means to finish something or to bring something to an end
• finiĝi means to finish/end by itself, to come to an end

Compare:

• Mi finas la libron. = I finish the book.
• La kunsido finiĝas. = The meeting is ending / comes to an end.

So in La pado finiĝas, the path is not actively finishing something else; rather, it itself comes to an end.

The -n ending marks the direct object, and sometimes direction.

In this sentence:

• La pado is the subject
• finiĝas is the verb
• ĉe kruciĝo is a prepositional phrase

Because kruciĝo follows the preposition ĉe, it does not take -n here.

So:

• ĉe kruciĝo = at a crossing/intersection

No direct object is present, so no noun needs -n.

Ĉe often means at, by, with, or in the vicinity of, depending on context.

Here, ĉe kruciĝo means something like:

• at a crossing
• by an intersection

It tells you the location where the path ends.

It is used because the sentence is describing a position, not movement toward a place.

Because ĉe expresses location, while al expresses movement to/toward something.

Compare:

• La pado finiĝas ĉe kruciĝo. = The path ends at an intersection.
• Mi iras al la kruciĝo. = I am going to the intersection.

Since the path is not moving anywhere, Esperanto uses the location preposition ĉe.

Kruciĝo is built from:

• kruc- = cross
• -iĝ- = become
• -o = noun

So kruciĝo is literally something like a becoming-crossed place/state, which in normal English is crossing, intersection, or junction.

Related forms:

• kruco = a cross
• kruci = to cross
• kruciĝi = to cross each other / intersect
• kruciĝo = intersection

Without la, kruciĝo is indefinite:

• ĉe kruciĝo = at a crossing / at an intersection

If you said ĉe la kruciĝo, that would mean:

• at the crossing / at the intersection

So the sentence as written refers to a crossing in a general or newly introduced sense, not a specific one already known in the conversation.

Yes, absolutely. That would mean the path ends at the intersection, referring to a specific intersection.

The difference is:

• ĉe kruciĝo = at a crossing, at some intersection
• ĉe la kruciĝo = at the intersection, at a specific known one

Yes, Esperanto word order is fairly flexible, though some orders sound more natural than others.

The normal neutral order is:

• La pado finiĝas ĉe kruciĝo.

You could also say:

• Ĉe kruciĝo finiĝas la pado.

That might sound more literary or emphatic, with more focus on ĉe kruciĝo.

Because Esperanto marks grammar mostly through endings and prepositions, word order can move around more freely than in English.

A simple pronunciation guide:

• fi = fee
• ni = nee
• ĝ sounds like the j in judge
• as = ahs

So approximately: fee-NEE-jahs

The stress in Esperanto is always on the second-to-last syllable, so:

• fi-ni-ĜAS

Ĉ sounds like ch in church.

So ĉe is pronounced roughly like cheh.

Examples:

• ĉe la domo = at the house
• ĉe mi = at my place / with me

Both can refer to a way or path, but they are not exactly the same.

• vojo = way, road, route, road-like path in a broader sense
• pado = path, footpath, trail, narrower path

So pado is a good choice if you mean a smaller path rather than a road or route in general.

Yes. The Esperanto present tense -as covers both the simple present and the English progressive in many contexts.

So:

• La pado finiĝas ĉe kruciĝo. can mean The path ends at an intersection
• in some contexts it could also feel like The path is ending at an intersection

Usually, the natural English translation here is simply ends.