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. Press play to hear the sentence:
这并不是一个令人感到意外的决定，毕竟维持庞大的算力成本和模型迭代需要巨大的资金支持，单纯依靠高昂的订阅费用很难覆盖所有边际成本，尤其是当用户基数达到亿级规模时，
This was not a surprising decision. After all, maintaining enormous computing costs and model iterations requires massive financial support. Relying solely on expensive subscription fees can hardly cover all marginal costs, especially when the user base reaches hundreds of millions.
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Related Grammar Patterns
Acquire by listening
Hear 毕竟 in real Chinese, not in a textbook.
Fluentide picks the next news episode at your level, so this pattern shows up again and again in real context. The transcript marks it, the audio drills it. Free to start.