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заканчивал

was finishing, finished, was finishing school, graduated

z ɐ k a nʲ t͡ɕ ɪ v ə ɫ → заканчивать
за begin or bring about an action or state + канч to finish, to end + ива forms imperfective verbs, often with iterative or ongoing meaning + л Masculine past tense
verb · singular masculine, past tense Rare #46,159
was finishing, finished The past-tense form for a male subject; the imperfective often describes an ongoing or habitual action.
RU: Он заканчивал работу поздно.
EN: He finished work late.
was finishing school, graduated Used with школа or вуз to talk about completing school or university.
RU: В каком году ты заканчивал школу?
EN: What year did you graduate from school?
Conjugation of заканчивать
Indicative past
заканчивал

А он заканчивал свою новую пьесу.

And he was finishing his new play.

— Бойфренд из будущего (2013)

Я заканчивал игру в карты.

I was finishing a game of cards.

— Жизнь прекрасна (1997)

Подожди, а ты в каком году заканчивал?

Wait, what year did you graduate?

— What Men Talk About (2010)

Sounds similar to

заканчивай z ɐ k a nʲ t͡ɕ ɪ v ə j