How to use 毕竟
(Subject +) 毕竟 + Relevant Fact / Reason
毕竟 introduces a fact or reason the speaker considers important to the judgment being made. It often asks the listener to take a circumstance seriously when evaluating someone’s behavior or deciding what is reasonable. The fact may explain a limitation, justify advice, or qualify an otherwise critical statement. English “after all” often captures this reasoning use.
The 毕竟 clause can follow the conclusion as an explanation, or precede it as the basis for what comes next. The subject may appear before 毕竟 when it belongs to that clause. This expression does not primarily sequence events or mean finally. Its focus is the enduring relevance of a fact, even when other considerations point in another direction.
Examples with pinyin and English
别骂他了，他毕竟是孩子。
Stop yelling at him. He's only a kid, after all.
毕竟是冬天，你还是多穿点吧。
It's winter, after all. You'd better dress more warmly.
他不知道也很正常， 毕竟他不是本地人。
It's not strange that he doesn't know. He's not a local, after all.
有的玩笑不能再开了， 毕竟他们都是大孩子了。
Some things shouldn't be joked about anymore. After all, they're not little kids anymore.
What to remember
- Use 毕竟 to emphasize a relevant reason.
- The reason may precede or follow the conclusion.
- It does not ordinarily mean finally.
Practise the pattern
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Source and editorial notes
Explanation rewritten for Laowai. Examples are adapted from the Laowai English grammar curriculum, with editorial corrections where needed. The original curriculum credits AllSet Learning’s Chinese Grammar Wiki as used with permission. Read the retained source credits.
Difficulty labels describe the level of the explanation; they are not official HSK placement. Send a correction with this page’s URL.