Chinese word

竟然

Pronunciation

Pinyinjìng rán

Meaning

  • adverbsurprisingly

Example

他竟然会说日语。tā jìng rán huì shuō rì yǔ

Surprisingly, he can speak Japanese.

Illustration for 竟然 (surprisingly)

More examples

她竟然连作业都没做。tā jìng rán lián zuò yè dōu méi zuò

Surprisingly, she did not even do her homework.

Core concept

The expected path ends at a fact that catches the speaker by surprise.

Common phrases

  • 竟然连...都jìng rán lián dōu

    surprisingly even ___

  • 竟然忘了jìng rán wàng le

    surprisingly forgot

  • 竟然是jìng rán shì

    surprisingly turn out to be

Similar words

居然jū rán: Marks a result that happens against expectations and seems surprisingly hard to believe.
甚至shèn zhì: Presents an extreme case to emphasize that even this case counts.

Definition in Chinese

用于表示某事出乎意料、令人惊讶，常在描述与预想相反的结果时出现，语气可强可弱视语境而定。yòng yú biǎo shì mǒu shì chū hū yì liào lìng rén jīng yà cháng zài miáo shù yǔ yù xiǎng xiāng fǎn de jié guǒ shí chū xiàn yǔ qì kě qiáng kě ruò shì yǔ jìng ér dìng

Word origin

In 竟然 (jìngrán, "surprisingly"), 竟 (jìng, "unexpectedly") points to an unforeseen result and 然 (rán, "so or in that state") presents that result as the fact now before the speaker.

Usage tips

  • The word does not by itself show whether the surprise is good or bad, which lets one sentence express delight, concern, or simple astonishment through its surrounding context.

Other meanings

  • no wayinterjection

Opposites

Word lists with this word