究竟

Etymology & Components

The Chinese word 究竟 (jīujìng) is composed of two characters: **究** (jiū) and **竟** (jìng). The character **究** originally meant "to seek" or "to investigate," and it is often used in the sense of "to get to the bottom of something" or "to find out the truth." The character **竟** originally meant "to reach the end" or "to come to a conclusion," and it is often used in the sense of "after all" or "in the end."When these two characters are combined to form the word 究竟, the meaning becomes "to investigate thoroughly" or "to get to the bottom of something." It can also be used in the sense of "after all" or "in the end," but it is more emphatic than the single character **竟**.For example, the sentence **究竟是怎么回事？** (jīujìng shì zěnme huì shì?) means "What is going on here?" or "What is the truth of the matter?" The sentence **他究竟想干什么？** (tā jīujìng xiǎng gàn shénme?) means "What does he want to do after all?" or "What is his ultimate goal?"The word 究竟 is a common word in Chinese, and it is used in a variety of contexts. It is an important word to know for HSK learners, as it can be used to express a variety of different meanings.