How to Write 竟 (jìng) — Meaning “Unexpectedly; actually; to finish”

Imagine a singer (音) on stage who unexpectedly (竟) finishes (竟) her song and then runs away on her legs (儿). The surprise of the sudden finish helps link the shape to both 'to finish' and 'unexpectedly'. Another trick: think of the top as 'stand up' (立) with a mouth (曰) below, but the actual radical is 立, so visualize a person standing up and then unexpectedly leaving.

Write 竟 starting with the top component: horizontal stroke (一) then dot (丶) for 立, followed by 曰 (vertical stroke, horizontal, etc.), then 儿 (vertical hook and a horizontal stroke). Be careful that the bottom 儿 is not too wide; the left stroke is a vertical hook and the right is a simple sweep. Common mistake: mixing up the order of 曰 (which has four strokes: vertical, horizontal fold, horizontal, horizontal) or writing 儿 too large.

竟 (jìng) means 'unexpectedly' or 'to finish', while 亲 (qīn) means 'parent' or 'close', and 竖 (shù) means 'vertical' or 'to erect'. Visually, 竟 has 立 on top and 儿 below, 亲 has 立 on top and 木 (tree) below, and 竖 has 立 on top and a simple vertical stroke with a dot? Actually 竖 is 立 + 厶 (private) or a simplified form; the key difference is the bottom part: 竟 uses 儿 (legs), 亲 uses 木 (wood), and 竖 uses a different component. In usage, only 竟 carries the sense of surprise or finality.

竟 is commonly used in words like 竟然 (jìng rán, 'unexpectedly') to express surprise about something that happened, and 毕竟 (bì jìng, 'after all') to emphasize a final consideration. It also appears in 究竟 (jiū jìng, 'exactly' or 'after all') when asking for the real truth. These are all HSK 4 level expressions and very common in daily conversation and writing.

Common words containing 竟 include: 竟然 (jìng rán) — Unexpectedly; to one's surprise; 毕竟 (bì jìng) — After all; 究竟 (jiū jìng) — After all / exactly.