Chinese word

突然

Pronunciation

Pinyintū rán

Meaning

  • adverbsuddenly

Example

他突然来了。tā tū rán lái le

He suddenly came.

Illustration for 突然 (suddenly)

More examples

他突然笑了。tā tū rán xiào le

He suddenly laughed.

Core concept

A stable situation is interrupted by a new event before anyone has time to prepare.

Common phrases

  • 突然下雨tū rán xià yǔ

    suddenly start to rain

  • 突然变得安静tū rán biàn de ān jìng

    suddenly grow quiet

  • 突然想起tū rán xiáng qǐ

    suddenly recall

Similar words

一下子yí xià zi: Something happens or changes all at once within a short time.
忽然hū rán: Something happens unexpectedly and catches people by surprise.

Definition in Chinese

指没有预先提醒或准备，某事在瞬间发生，导致情况产生明显变化或转折。zhǐ méi yǒu yù xiān tí xǐng huò zhǔn bèi mǒu shì zài shùn jiān fā shēng dǎo zhì qíng kuàng chǎn shēng míng xiǎn biàn huà huò zhuǎn zhé

Word origin

突 (tū, "to break out") + 然 (rán, "in that state") combine to present an event as breaking into a situation without prior notice.

Usage tips

  • 突然 (tūrán, "suddenly") usually comes before the verb or adjective it modifies, making the timing of the change easy to spot in a Chinese sentence.

Other meanings

  • unexpectedlyadverb

Opposites

Word lists with this word