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毕竟 meaning in English

bìjìng

after all; all in all

HSK 5adverbTraditional 畢竟17 strokes

Meaning of 毕竟

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

bìjìng
  1. after all
  2. all in all
  3. when all is said and done
  4. in the final analysis

How to use 毕竟

毕竟 introduces the underlying reason or basic fact that explains a situation, often to excuse or justify something. It usually comes before the subject or right after it. Example: 别怪他，他毕竟还是个孩子。(Bié guài tā, tā bìjìng hái shì gè háizi.) Don't blame him, he is only a child after all.

毕 (bì) means to finish, as in 毕业 (bìyè) to graduate, and 竟 (jìng) also carries the idea of reaching the end. When you finish thinking something all the way to the end, you land on 毕竟: after all, in the final analysis.

Common mistake: Learners often mix up 毕竟 with 究竟 (jiūjìng). 究竟 is used in questions to mean "what exactly" or "on earth", while 毕竟 states a known fact as a reason and cannot be used in questions. Also avoid 竟然 (jìngrán), which expresses surprise, not explanation.

毕竟 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

毕bì竟jìng，即jí使shǐ是shì神shén也yě会huì偶ǒu尔ěr出chū差chā错cuò。
After all, even the gods may err at times.
你nǐ毕bì竟jìng是shì对duì的de。
After all, you're right.
毕bì竟jìng，我wǒ应yīng认rèn真zhēn相xiàng信xìn些xiē什shén么me？
In the end, what must I really believe in?
他tā毕bì竟jìng是shì那nà个ge时shí代dài的de人rén。
He's a product of his time.
毕bì竟jìng，这zhè家jiā伙huo有yǒu一yī次cì想xiǎng杀shā我wǒ爸bà。
After all, this is a guy that tried to kill my dad at one time.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

毕 bì · to finish · 6 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6

竟 jìng · unexpectedly · 11 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11

Related words

Words that share a character with 毕竟.

究竟jiūjìngto go to the bottom of a matter; after all
竟然jìngránunexpectedly; to one's surprise
毕业bìyègraduation; to graduate
毕业生bìyèshēnggraduate
完毕wánbìto finish; to end
竟敢jìnggǎnto have the impertinence; to have the cheek to
毕生bìshēngone's whole life; throughout one's life
毕业典礼bìyèdiǎnlǐgraduation ceremony; commencement exercises
毕肖bìxiàoto resemble closely; to be the very image of

Questions about 毕竟

What does 毕竟 mean?

毕竟 (bìjìng) means "after all; all in all" and is used as a adverb.

How do you write 毕竟?

毕竟 is made of 2 characters: 毕 (6 strokes), 竟 (11 strokes). That is 17 strokes in total.

Is 毕竟 an HSK word?

Yes. 毕竟 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

How is 毕竟 written in traditional Chinese?

In traditional characters, 毕竟 is written 畢竟.

Can 毕竟 be used at the end of a sentence like English "after all"?

No. Unlike English, 毕竟 goes before the verb phrase, either at the start of the clause or right after the subject. Say 他毕竟是新人 (tā bìjìng shì xīnrén), not 他是新人毕竟.

What is the difference between 毕竟 and 到底 (dàodǐ)?

Both can mean "after all" when stating a reason, so 他到底是专家 and 他毕竟是专家 are close in meaning. But 到底 can also be used in questions and can mean "finally" or "to the end", while 毕竟 only gives an explanatory fact.

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