毕竟 (bìjìng) means "after all" or "when all is said and done" in Mandarin, and you use it to point out an underlying reason that justifies patience or understanding. Unlike English "after all," which often trails off at the end of a sentence, 毕竟 goes at the start of your explanation, right before the reason you want to emphasize.
The structure is simple: 毕竟 (bìjìng) comes before the reason you're highlighting. Take the key example from this lesson:
别怪他了，他毕竟是新来的。 (bié guài tā le, tā bìjìng shì xīn lái de.) — "Don't blame him — he's new here, after all."
Here, 毕竟 introduces the fact that softens the judgment. You're defending someone who made a mistake by reminding others of the bigger picture. This HSK 5 grammar point shows up in everyday conversation whenever you want to make allowances for a person or situation.
In this roughly 10-minute live conversation lesson, you talk out loud with AI teacher Mei Lin — voice, not typing. Mei Lin guides you through scenarios where you'd naturally use 毕竟, correcting your grammar and pronunciation in the flow of conversation and adapting to your level. You'll practice defending someone's mistake, pointing out why patience is warranted, and placing 毕竟 correctly before the reason — not at the end.
The first lesson is free to start. For more grammar-focused speaking practice, explore the HSK 5 lessons hub page, or try another HSK 5 live lesson on formal contrasts and another HSK 5 live lesson on patterns and tendencies. To reinforce characters from your sessions, use the free printable Chinese worksheet generator.
毕竟 (bìjìng) goes at the start of the clause containing the reason you want to emphasize — not at the end like English "after all." In the example 别怪他了，他毕竟是新来的, it comes before "he's new here," which is the underlying fact that justifies patience. This placement is what the "Making Allowances" lesson trains you to produce naturally in speech.
After this lesson, you can point out an underlying reason to justify patience or understanding — for example, defending someone who made a mistake by reminding others of the bigger picture. You'll practice using 毕竟 (bìjìng) — After All / When All Is Said and Done — in real spoken scenarios with Mei Lin, who corrects you as you talk.
Each live conversation lesson targets one specific grammar pattern and takes roughly 10 minutes. This one focuses entirely on 毕竟 (bìjìng), so you spend the session practicing that pattern in conversation rather than switching between unrelated topics. The first lesson can be tried free.
You can print free handwriting worksheets using the Chinese Worksheet Generator. Ready-made packs cover HSK 1–3 words, so for an HSK 5 pattern like 毕竟 you may need to build your own practice set. The worksheets complement the live speaking practice you get with Mei Lin in the "Making Allowances" lesson.