终究 (zhōng jiū) — (adverb) in the end, eventually, after all (oft…

Definition

终究 highlights inevitability — 'in the end, as was bound to happen' — and often pairs with 还是 to stress an unavoidable outcome. It's heavier and more emphatic than 终于 ('finally, at last'), which focuses on completion rather than inevitability.

adverb

in the endeventuallyafter all (often with the sense that something is inevitable or bound to happen)

Examples

终究。
Tā zhōng jiū hái shì xuǎn zé le lí kāi.
He ultimately chose to leave after all.
终究。
Huǎng yán zhōng jiū huì bèi jiē chuān.
A lie will eventually be exposed.
终究。
Nǐ zhōng jiū yào wèi zì jǐ de jué dìng fù zé.
You will have to be responsible for your own decision in the end.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

终zhōngend

究jiūultimately

终 and 究 both point to the final outcome, so the word means 'in the end, after all'.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 終; 终 is its simplified writing.

糹冬終

Meaning part形符xíngfú

糹Written in full as糸mì

Sound part声符shēngfú

冬

冬dōng終zhōng

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 終 pairs 糸 (a cord) with 冬 as a sound part; the simplified 终 is a later shorthand. An older form showed a knot at the end of a cord.

Open 终 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

穴九究

Meaning part形符xíngfú

穴穴xuécave

Sound part声符shēngfú

九

九jiǔ究jiū

Same sound today

究 pairs 穴, a cave, with 九, which gives the sound.

Open 究 →

Appears in