How to say “suddenly” in Chinese

突然

tūrán

suddenly; sudden

adjective · HSK 3 · topic “Seasons and time”

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

How to pronounce it

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

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

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

How to write it

突

tū — suddenly; burst out

On top, 穴 “burrow”; below, 犬 “dog”: a dog bursts out of its burrow.

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 “突然”.

Examples

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

突然下了一阵暴雨。tūránxiàleyízhènbàoyǔSuddenly it started pouring.
前面的车突然刹车，我差点儿撞上。qiánmiàndechētūránshāchē,wǒchàdiǎnrzhuàngshàngThe car in front braked suddenly, and I almost crashed into it.
屋子里的灯突然灭了。wūzilidedēngtūránmièleThe light in the room suddenly went out.
你怎么突然站在我后面？吓了我一跳！nǐzěnmetūránzhànzàiwǒhòumiàn,xiàlewǒyítiàoWhy'd you suddenly stand right behind me? You scared me!
气球突然爆了qìqiútūránbàoleThe balloon suddenly popped.
敌人突然发动了攻击。díréntūránfādònglegōngjīThe enemy suddenly attacked.

More words from the lesson “Early or late”

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 突然, pinyin tūrán.

What does 突然 mean?

突然 (tūrán) means “suddenly; sudden”.

How do you write 突然?

突然 is 2 characters: 突 (tū) — suddenly; burst out; 然 (rán) — so; however. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.

How do you pronounce 突然?

突然 is read tūrán. Tones: tū — first tone, rán — second tone. The page has a native speaker recording.

“suddenly” in the lesson “Early or late”

This word is from the topic “Seasons and time” of HSK 3. 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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