归根到底
in the final analysis; at root; when all is said and done
Structure
…， 归根到底 （是／在于／还是／要靠） 根本的原因或结论
What it means
“In the final analysis; at root”: cuts through the details to the root cause or the bottom line, often after surface reasons have been given.
How it is built
…， 归根到底 + 是／在于／还是／要靠 + root cause or conclusion: 房价这么高，归根到底还是因为好学校都集中在大城市 (house prices are this high, at root, because the good schools are in big cities).
When to use it
At the head of a clause or after the subject. 归根结底 means the same and is a little more formal; in speech people often say 说到底.
Watch out
It names the root, not a summary of several points (that is 总之, 1-26) or a first reason in a list. ✗ 原因有三个，归根到底，第一是… ✓ 原因有三个，首先是….
Examples
知道了不去做，归根到底就是还不知道。
To know and not act is, in the end, not yet to know.
朱熹和王阳明的分歧，归根到底在于道理是在万物之中，还是在人心之中。
At root, Zhu Xi and Wang Yangming disagreed over whether principle lies in things or in the human mind.
房价这么高，归根到底还是因为好学校和好医院都集中在大城市。
When all is said and done, house prices are this high because the good schools and hospitals are all concentrated in the big cities.
Learn this in Lesson 98 · HSK 6–7: 王阳明与知行合一 (Wang Yangming: knowing is doing)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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