Chinese grammar › HSK 5
What on earth with 究竟 — Chinese grammar (HSK 5)
Subject + 究竟 + Question
究竟 (jiūjìng) adds urgency to a question, like English "exactly" or "on earth": 你究竟想要什么？ It is the more formal twin of 到底. It is used in questions with a question word or an A不A choice, never with 吗.
Examples
| 你究竟想说什么？ Nǐ jiūjìng xiǎng shuō shénme? | What exactly are you trying to say? | |
| 这件事情究竟是谁的责任？ Zhè jiàn shìqing jiūjìng shì shéi de zérèn? | Whose responsibility is this, really? | |
| 他究竟来不来，我也不清楚。 Tā jiūjìng lái bù lái, wǒ yě bù qīngchu. | I am not sure either whether he is actually coming. |