竟是 (jìng shì) — turn out to be (surprisingly), unexpectedly is/are

Definition

Expresses surprise at a discovery: 'turns out to be' / 'unexpectedly is'. Highlights that the revealed fact contradicts what was assumed or previously known.

verb
turn out to be (surprisingly)unexpectedly is/are

Examples

  • 竟是。
    Wǒ méi xiǎng dào tā jìng shì wǒ de xiǎo xué tóng xué.
    I didn't expect that he would turn out to be my elementary school classmate.
  • 竟是。
    Nà ge xiǎo tōu jìng shì yí gè shí jǐ suì de hái zi.
    That thief turned out to be a teenager.
  • 竟是。
    Tā shuō de nà ge dì fāng jìng shì wǒ xiǎo shí hou zhù guò de dì fāng.
    The place he mentioned turned out to be where I lived as a child.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

竟jìngunexpectedly
是shìbe

The 竟 unexpectedly and 是 be combine to mean turn out to be, with surprise.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The origin is uncertain, but one old reading sees 竟 as 音 (sound) with 儿 (a person), meaning a person has spoken.

Open 竟 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 是 →

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