English–Japanese

“suddenly” in Japanese

Japanese

Alsoふと (futo) · 急に (kyūni) · いきなり (ikinari) · 急遽 (kyūkyo)

Pronunciation

Romajitotsuzen

Example

電話が突然鳴りました。den wa ga totsu zen na ri ma shi ta

The phone suddenly rang.

Illustration for 突然 (suddenly)

How to say “suddenly” in Japanese

“Suddenly” in Japanese is 突然 (totsuzen).

Marks an event as happening unexpectedly, with no time for preparation or warning.

Full entry for 突然: usage tips, similar words and word origin

Example sentences with 突然

突然、雨が降りました。totsu zen ame ga fu ri ma shi ta

It suddenly rained.

先生は突然笑い出しました。sen sei wa totsu zen wara i da shi ma shi ta

The teacher suddenly burst out laughing.

Tips for using 突然

  • In everyday Japanese, 突然 (totsuzen) can stand directly before a verb, as in 突然来る (totsuzen kuru), to show that an action happens without warning.

Other Japanese words for “suddenly”

ふと昔の友達を思い出しました。fu to mukashi no tomo dachi o omo i da shi ma shi ta

I suddenly remembered an old friend.

雨が急に降り始めました。ame ga kyū ni fu ri haji me ma shi ta

It suddenly started raining.

いきなり雨が降りました。i ki na ri ame ga fu ri ma shi ta

It suddenly started raining.

急遽、会議を中止しました。kyū kyo kai gi o chū shi shi ma shi ta

I suddenly canceled the meeting.

“suddenly” in other languages