schließlich. Finally. After all.
schließlich has two distinct meanings. It can mean "finally" or "eventually", something happened after a long wait. Or it can mean "after all", here is a reason that justifies what was just said. Both meanings follow the same rule: the verb stays in position 2.
Meaning one: finally
In its temporal meaning, schließlich marks the end of a process or a wait. Something took time, involved steps, or required patience, and then it happened. It is close to "eventually" or "in the end."
| German | English |
|---|---|
| Schließlich hat er es geschafft. | He finally managed it. |
| Schließlich kamen wir an. | We finally arrived. |
| Sie hat schließlich Ja gesagt. | She eventually said yes. |
| Schließlich verstand er dieRegel. | He finally understood the rule. |
Meaning two: after all
In its reasoning meaning, schließlich introduces a justification. It signals: "here is a fact that makes this obvious or expected." It is close to "after all" or "you have to remember that." This meaning is very common in spoken German.
| German | English |
|---|---|
| Schließlich habe ich 13 Jahre Erfahrung. | After all, I have 13 years of experience. |
| Schließlich ist er dein Freund. | After all, he is your friend. |
| Schließlich haben wir dafür bezahlt. | After all, we paid for it. |
| Schließlich ist Deutsch keineeinfacheSprache. | After all, German is not an easy language. |
Context tells you which meaning is active. A sequence of events points to "finally." A justification or explanation points to "after all."
The word order rule
schließlich is an adverb. Like dann, deshalb, and trotzdem, it does not send the verb to the end. The verb always stays in position 2. When schließlich opens the sentence, subject and verb swap.
| Position 1 | Verb (pos. 2) | Subject | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Schließlich | hat | er | es geschafft. |
| Schließlich | kamen | wir | an. |
| Schließlich | habe | ich | 13 Jahre Erfahrung. |
| Schließlich | ist | er | dein Freund. |
schließlich can also sit in the middle of a sentence, after the verb. In that case, nothing changes about the word order at all.
| Subject | Verb | schließlich | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Er | hat | schließlich | Ja gesagt. |
| Wir | sind | schließlich | angekommen. |
| Sie | hat | schließlich | Recht. |
The full adverb picture
All four adverbs in this series follow the same word-order rule. What differs is the relationship each one expresses between two ideas.
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| dann | then (what comes next in sequence) |
| deshalb | therefore (this is the consequence) |
| trotzdem | nevertheless (this happened anyway) |
| schließlich | finally / after all (at last, or here is why) |
The same inversion rule: trotzdem. Nevertheless. The verb stays. and deshalb. That's why. The verb stays.