竟

Ideogrammic compound:

兄 (형 형) — upper part, originally depicting a man with an open mouth, signifying speech or expression.

辛 (매울 신) — lower part, a pictograph of a stylized needle or cutting tool, symbolizing hardship, sharpness, or conclusion.

Thus, 兄 + 辛 → 竟 — the idea of “speech reaching its limit” or “matter coming to its end,” hence completion, conclusion, culmination.

In Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字):

「竟，盡也。从立，音景。」

“竟 means to exhaust or finish; derived from 立, pronounced jǐng.”

However, early bronze and small seal forms show the elements 兄 and 辛 rather than 立.

Scholars interpret this as expressing the end of a process involving hardship — “to go through to the end despite difficulty.”

Over time, the sense broadened from “to exhaust, to finish” to “finally, after all.”

Graphical development:

Oracle and bronze inscriptions: combination of elements resembling 兄 and 辛, expressing “utterance reaching conclusion.”

Seal script (篆書): more abstract, standardized as current structure.

Regular script (楷書): stabilized into the modern form with balanced symmetry.

Semantic evolution:

“To finish, complete” → 畢, 終 equivalents.

“To reach or go to the end” → extent, entirety (e.g., 竟日 “all day”).

Adverbial use: “after all, ultimately, indeed” (e.g., 竟然 “unexpectedly,” 究竟 “after all”).

竟然 (경연) — unexpectedly; after all; surprisingly

究竟 (구경) — ultimately; after all; the end or result of something

事竟 (사경) — the matter has ended; conclusion of affairs

竟日 (경일) — all day long; from morning till night

竟夜 (경야) — all night long

竟路 (경로) — the end of a road; destination

竟成 (경성) — to complete or accomplish

Kangxi Dictionary (康熙字典, vol. 920):

「竟，畢也，盡也。」

“竟 means to complete, to finish, to exhaust”

Book of Odes (詩經 · 大雅 · 常武):

「竟日不暇。」

“All day without rest” — 竟日 meaning “throughout the day.”

Mencius (孟子 · 滕文公上):

「竟日不食。」

“All day without eating” — 竟 used temporally, meaning “the whole duration.”

Zhuangzi (莊子 · 齊物論):

「竟於無為。」

“It culminates in non-action” — philosophical sense: completion or ultimate realization.

Huainanzi (淮南子 · 天文訓):

「四時更用而不竟。」

“The four seasons succeed one another without end.” — 竟 here meaning “to end” (negated: “without end”).

In classical and modern usage alike, 竟 signifies *the culmination of a process — physical, temporal, or philosophical — the moment when all effort reaches its conclusion.