# After all - אחרי ככלות הכול



## airelibre

Morfix gives אחרי ככלות הכול as meaning 'after all'. I've seen the phrase in the sense of 'after everything is gone' (which I suspect is/was the literal meaning) but can it also be used as in 'we should have known he would do this. After all, he was in prison three years' or is a different prase used for this meaning?

Thanks.


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## Stifled

אחרי ככלות הכול is a literary expression and it doesn't fit well in a contemporary conversation nor does it fit to the example you've given. It's best to use אחרי הכול in spoken language.


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## GeriReshef

The term is known to almost everybody from אדון עולם.
There it has the meaning of "after everything in the world ends" (the hymn glorifies the God who ruled before anything was created and will rule even after everything ends..)
In spoken language it has the meaning the end of the story or the incident (when the fat lady sings..).


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## Tararam

You could use "הרי" as well.


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## airelibre

I already knew about adon olam but thanks anyway.

Going back to my example would it be fine to say ״היינו צריכים לדעת שהוא יעשה משהו כזה: הרי/אחרי הכול היה בכלא שלוש שנים״
?

(Is it shalosh shanim, since shana is femenine, or is it shlosha because of the masculine ending in plural?)


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## amikama

airelibre said:


> (Is it shalosh shanim, since shana is femenine, or is it shlosha because of the masculine ending in plural?)


The former (shalosh shanim). The agreement is always in the gender, regardless of the suffixes.


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## Stifled

היינו צריכים לדעת שהוא יעשה משהו כזה, אחרי הכול, הוא היה בכלא שלוש שנים.

היינו צריכים לדעת שהוא יעשה משהו כזה, הרי הוא היה בכלא שלוש שנים. 

They're both fine. The former is a bit more eloquent whereas the last is more fluent and suitable for a light conversation. To sum it up, you can use them both as you like.


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## airelibre

Thank you very much.


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## GeriReshef

I think the colloqial term could be translated as "in the end of the day" or maybe "in the bottom line".


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## MuttQuad

GeriReshef said:


> I think the colloqial term could be translated as "in the end of the day" or maybe "in the bottom line".



We would say _*at*_ the end of the day and *at* the bottom line more commonly, at least in AmE.


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## airelibre

MuttQuad said:


> We would say _*at*_ the end of the day and *at* the bottom line more commonly, at least in AmE.



I've never heard "in/at the bottom line" but in BrE "at the end of the day" is how it is said.


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