究竟
HSK 4 (exam 2025)HSK 4 (2021)Old HSK 4
究竟 (jiūjìng) · exactly
究竟 (jiūjìng) means “exactly; after all; on earth (in questions)”. It is written with 2 characters: 究 (to dig into) + 竟 (finally). It is an HSK 4 word in the current exam syllabus (2025).
How 究竟 is built
The characters
究 jiū · to dig into
What 究 is made of
- 穴xué — cave
- 宀 — roof
- 丶 — dot
- 冖mì — cover
- 八bā — eight
- 宀 — roof
- 九jiǔ — nine
- 丿 — falling stroke
- 乙yǐ — second
Origin hint: 穴 gives the meaning, 九 gives the sound. (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)
竟 jìng · finally
What 竟 is made of
- 音yīn — sound
- 立lì — to stand
- 亠tóu — lid
- 丷ha — kwukyel
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 日rì — sun; day
- 口kǒu — mouth
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 立lì — to stand
- 儿ér — child
- 丿 — falling stroke
- 乚 — hook stroke
Origin hint: A person 儿 finishing a musical piece 音 (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)
Example sentences
你究竟想说什么？Nǐ jiūjìng xiǎng shuō shénme?What exactly are you trying to say?
这究竟是怎么回事？Zhè jiūjìng shì zěnme huí shì?What on earth is going on?
Questions about 究竟
What does 究竟 mean?
究竟 (jiūjìng) means “exactly; after all; on earth (in questions)”.
How do you pronounce 究竟?
究竟 is pronounced jiūjìng.
Which HSK level is 究竟?
究竟 is in HSK 4 (exam 2025) and HSK 4 (2021) and Old HSK 4.
Related words
- 讲究jiǎngjiuto be particular about
- 研究yánjiūto research
- 研究生yánjiūshēnggraduate student
- 终究zhōngjiūafter all
- 追究zhuījiūto look into
- 竟然jìngránunexpectedly
- 毕竟bìjìngafter all
Learn 究竟 with its group
It is part of HSK 4 (2021) · Group 18: a short group with quick checks and spaced repeats.