Chinese word

忽然

Pronunciation

Pinyinhū rán

Meaning

  • adverbsuddenly

Example

我忽然想起一件事。wǒ hū rán xiáng qǐ yí jiàn shì

I suddenly remembered something.

Illustration for 忽然 (suddenly)

More examples

听到那个声音，她忽然感到害怕。tīng dào nà ge shēng yīn tā hū rán gǎn dào hài pà

When she heard that sound, she suddenly felt afraid.

Core concept

Something changes from one moment to the next before anyone has time to expect it.

Common phrases

  • 忽然想起hū rán xiáng qǐ

    suddenly recall

  • 忽然感到害怕hū rán gǎn dào hài pà

    suddenly become afraid

Similar words

突然tū rán: Describes a sudden event or change that no one expected.
一下子yí xià zi: Describes an action or change happening in one quick burst in casual speech.
马上mǎ shàng: Describes something happening right away without any waiting.

Definition in Chinese

表示事态在极短时间内发生变化，出乎意料，常作副词用。biǎo shì shì tài zài jí duǎn shí jiān nèi fā shēng biàn huà chū hū yì liào cháng zuò fù cí yòng

Word origin

忽 (hū, "sudden") + 然 (rán, "in that state") forms a word for entering a new state in a very short time.

Usage tips

  • Chinese often places 忽然 (hūrán, "suddenly") before the verb, while English often places the matching adverb later in the sentence.

Other meanings

  • unexpectedlyadverb

Opposites

Word lists with this word