Chinese word

敢情

Pronunciation

Pinyingǎn qíng

Meaning

  • adverbso that's why

Example

敢情你没来，是因为生病了。gǎn qíng nǐ méi lái shì yīn wèi shēng bìng le

So that's why you didn't come - you were sick.

Illustration for 敢情 (so that's why)

More examples

我去问同事，敢情原来是他已经离职了。wǒ qù wèn tóng shì gǎn qíng yuán lái shì tā yǐ jīng lí zhí le

I went to ask my colleague, only to find out that he had already left the company.

Core concept

A new fact clicks into place, prompting a brief spoken reaction about what it explains.

Common phrases

  • 敢情原来是gǎn qíng yuán lái shì

    so it turns out that

  • 敢情你早已gǎn qíng nǐ záo yǐ

    so you had already

Similar words

原来yuán lái: Signals that later information reveals how things really were.
难怪nán guài: Expresses understanding that a known reason explains an outcome.
果然guǒ rán: Confirms that events have turned out as expected.
竟然jìng rán: Expresses surprise at an unexpected event or result.

Definition in Chinese

表示因发现或推断到事实而作出的应答或评价，语气可从中性到略带讽刺，可译为“原来是这样”或“那就好像是这样”。biǎo shì yīn fā xiàn huò tuī duàn dào shì shí ér zuò chū de yìng dá huò píng jià yǔ qì kě cóng zhōng xìng dào lüè dài fěng cì kě yì wèi yuán lái shì zhè yàng huò nà jiù hǎo xiàng shì zhè yàng

Word origin

敢情 (gǎnqíng, "so that is how it is") is a fixed colloquial adverb whose meaning comes from the whole expression rather than a literal reading of its two characters.

Usage tips

  • In everyday conversation, the same wording can sound neutral, mildly sarcastic, or pleased; prosody and context show whether the speaker is merely connecting facts or adding an attitude.

Word lists with this word