究竟jiū jìngafter all; when all is said and done

1. 1.

   after all; when all is said and doneadverb

2. 2.

   (in an interrogative sentence) finallyadverb

• 究after all
• 竟actually

究竟 can make a question sound more insistent; it often sits right before the verb or before 是.

1. HSK 7–9

   你究竟想去哪儿？

   Nǐ jiūjìng xiǎng qù nǎr?

   Where exactly do you want to go?

2. HSK 7–9

   这究竟是谁的书？

   Zhè jiūjìng shì shéi de shū?

   Whose book is this, after all?

1. 
   Speaker A:

   你看见我的手机了吗？

   Nǐ kànjiàn wǒ de shǒujī le ma?

   Have you seen my phone?

2. 
   Speaker B:

   没有。你究竟放在哪儿了？

   Méiyǒu. Nǐ jiūjìng fàng zài nǎr le?

   No. Where exactly did you put it?

3. 
   Speaker A:

   我也不知道，刚才还在桌子上。

   Wǒ yě bù zhīdào, gāngcái hái zài zhuōzi shang.

   I don't know either. It was on the table a moment ago.

4. 
   Speaker B:

   你看，它在椅子下面。

   Nǐ kàn, tā zài yǐzi xiàmiàn.

   Look, it's under the chair.

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Related words

• 竟然jìng ránunexpectedlyHSK 4
• 研究yán jiūresearchHSK 4
• 不得不bù dé bùhave no choice or option but toHSK 4
• 不必bú bìneed notHSK 4
• 也许yě xǔperhaps; maybeHSK 4
• 互相hù xiāngeach otherHSK 4

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