Expressing "after all" with "bijing"

毕竟 (bìjìng) can be used to emphasize a reason or characteristic, and is like "after all" where you might say, "he is after all, only a child." 毕竟 is used both in spoken and written Chinese.

Basic Form

In it's most basic form, You just need to add the "after all" stuff after the 毕竟, and it could be a reason or a characteristic.

Structure

毕竟 + reason/characteristic

Examples

• 狼 毕竟 还 有 野性，喂食 的 时候 一定 要 十分 小心。After all, wolves are wild. When you're feeding them, you have to be very careful.
• 辞职 对 我 来说 是 个 很 难 的 决定，毕竟 我 在 这个 公司 很长 时间 了。For me, resigning is a difficult decision, after all, I've worked at this company for a long time.
• 没关系，他 想 请客 就 让 他 请，毕竟 他 不 缺 钱！It doesn't matter. If he wants to treat us, let him. After all, he doesn't lack money!

Complex Form

Structure

虽然 + A + 但 + 毕竟 + B + C

In this structure, A and B are reasons or characteristics, and C is a result or conclusion.It's a bit more complex, so pay attention to the different parts in the example sentences below.

Examples

• 虽然 小 狼 看起来 可爱，但 毕竟 是 野生 动物，跟 它 打交道 时 一定 要 保持 警惕。Although little wolves look cute, they are still wild animals. When you deal with them, you have to be careful.
• 虽然 他 做 错 了 事情，但是 他 毕竟 还是 个 小孩儿，你 就 别 打 他 了。Although he does bad things, he is, after all, only a small child, so don't hit him.

Sources and further reading

Books

• Boya Chinese Upper Intermediate 1 (博雅汉语中级冲刺篇) (pp.155) →buy
• Chinese Grammar - Broken down into 100 items - Basic and Intermediate Levels (汉语语法百项讲练 - 初中级) (pp.127-30) →buy
• Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 2 (pp. 151-2) →buy
• New Practical Chinese Reader 5 (新实用汉语课本5) (pp.92) →buy

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