How to say “suddenly” in Chinese

忽然

hūrán

suddenly

adverb · HSK 4 · topic “Feelings and mood”

“Suddenly” in Chinese is 忽然, hū rán: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.

How to pronounce it

忽然 is read hū rán: 2 syllables. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.

hū — 1st tonehigh and level, like a long note

rán — 2nd tonerising, like a surprised “huh?”

How to write it

忽

hū — suddenly; overlook

然

rán — so; however

At the bottom, 灬 “fire”.

Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “忽然”.

Examples

Sentences from the course lessons with 忽然. Tap the sound icon to listen.

他为什么忽然不高兴了？tāwèishénmehūránbùgāoxìngleWhy did he suddenly get upset?

More words from the lesson “Moved and amazed”

Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.

Frequently asked questions

How do you say “suddenly” in Chinese?

“Suddenly” in Chinese is 忽然, pinyin hūrán.

What does 忽然 mean?

忽然 (hūrán) means “suddenly”.

How do you write 忽然?

忽然 is 2 characters: 忽 (hū) — suddenly; overlook; 然 (rán) — so; however. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.

How do you pronounce 忽然?

忽然 is read hūrán. Tones: hū — first tone, rán — second tone. The page has a native speaker recording.

“suddenly” in the lesson “Moved and amazed”

This word is from the topic “Feelings and mood” of HSK 4. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.

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