The character 然 — “so”: how to write it and what it means
so; however
The Chinese character 然 is read rán and means “so; however”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.
Stroke order: how to write 然
然 has 12 strokes. At each step the new stroke is highlighted — write them in the same order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical, a frame before what is inside it, and the bottom stroke of the frame last.
To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for 然, with strokes to trace and empty squares.
What 然 is made of
At the bottom, 灬 “fire”.
The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.
Words with 然
- 虽然althoughHSK 2
- 然后thenHSK 3
- 突然suddenly; suddenHSK 3
- 当然of courseHSK 3
- 竟然unexpectedly, to one's surpriseHSK 4
- 忽然suddenlyHSK 4
- 仍然stillHSK 4
- 既然since, now thatHSK 4
- 自然nature; naturallyHSK 4
- 然而however (lit.)HSK 4
- 大自然natureHSK 4
- 依然still, as beforeHSK 5
- 偶然accidental; by chanceHSK 5
- 果然as expectedHSK 5
- 居然unexpectedly, to one's surpriseHSK 5
- 显然obviouslyHSK 5
Frequently asked questions
How do you write the character 然?
然 has 12 strokes. They follow the usual rules: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal before vertical, outside before inside. The order of each stroke is shown on this page.
What does 然 mean?
然 means “so; however”. It appears in 虽然 (“although”), 然后 (“then”), 突然 (“suddenly”), 当然 (“of course”).
How do you pronounce 然?
然 is read rán. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.
How many strokes does 然 have?
12 strokes.
More characters on the page “Chinese characters with meanings” and in the list of HSK characters by level; whole words are in the dictionary.
Write 然 yourself
In the lessons you write characters stroke by stroke with a finger or a mouse, and the course checks the order. You can start for free, no sign-up needed.
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