毕竟
Reach for 毕竟 when you want to remind the listener of a fact that explains or excuses what just happened — 'after all, X is true.' It's the word you reach for to soften a judgment or close an argument with an undeniable truth. Common in conversation, opinion writing, and any moment when you're saying 'don't be too surprised — given X, this makes sense.' It often appears mid-sentence as a connector or at the start of the explanation clause.
Structure
[STATEMENT], 毕竟 [UNDERLYING FACT]
bìjìng
How to Think About It
毕竟 is the verbal shrug. It signals: 'when you remember this basic fact, the situation makes sense.' Unlike 因为, which introduces a fresh causal explanation, 毕竟 invokes a fact the listener should already accept — usually a piece of context, an identity, or a constraint. The tone is 'be reasonable about this.' If you can replace your reason with 'after all, he's only a kid' or 'after all, it's a free country,' 毕竟 fits.
Examples
他还是个孩子, 毕竟才八岁。
Tā háishì gè háizi, bìjìng cái bā suì.
He's still a kid — after all, he's only eight.
今天人不多, 毕竟下着大雨。
Jīntiān rén bù duō, bìjìng xià zhe dàyǔ.
There aren't many people today — after all, it's pouring rain.
她说得没错, 毕竟她在这里工作了十年。
Tā shuō de méi cuò, bìjìng tā zài zhèlǐ gōngzuò le shí nián.
She's right — after all, she's worked here for ten years.
Common Mistake
Learners use 毕竟 as a generic 'because,' which makes the sentence sound oddly defensive when there's nothing to excuse. 毕竟 works only when the second clause is a self-evident or accepted fact that softens the first clause. If you're introducing brand-new information, use 因为.
我没去上班, 毕竟我今天买了一双新鞋。
他考得不太好, 毕竟才学了三个月。
Don't Confuse With
因为
因为 introduces a fresh cause; 毕竟 invokes a fact the listener should already accept. 'I'm tired because I worked late' = 因为 (new info). 'Cut him some slack — he's new, after all' = 毕竟.
到底
Looks similar in feel — both can mean 'after all' in English — but 到底 means 'in the end / really' and is used in questions and emphasis (你到底要不要去? = 'are you going or not?'). They are not interchangeable.
终于
终于 = 'finally, at last' (after waiting). 毕竟 = 'after all, given the facts.' English 'finally' and 'after all' both get loosely translated, but the Chinese words point in different directions.
Practice
别对他太严格, ___ 他是新来的。
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毕竟
票卖得很快, ___ 这是 ___ 一场演唱会。 (Fill the first blank)
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毕竟
Put in order: [毕竟 / 他 / 累 / 一整天 / 工作 / 很 / 了]
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他很累, 毕竟工作了一整天。
Translate to Chinese: 'Don't blame her — after all, she's new here.'
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别怪她, 毕竟她是新来的。
Write a sentence using 毕竟 to soften a judgment about someone or something.
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Example answer: 这家店的菜不便宜, 毕竟用的都是进口食材。 (The food here isn't cheap — after all, they use imported ingredients.)
Hear It in Real Episodes
This pattern appears in 1 Fluentide episode: