突然

突然 tūrán

Sudden (abrupt - unexpected)

What 突然 means

  1. Sudden (abrupt - unexpected)

These meanings come from the same dictionary that powers the Chinese to Pinyin translator and the Chinese to English translator, so a whole sentence containing 突然 will read it the same way this page does.

Character by character

突然 is written with 2 characters. Chinese words are usually easier to remember once you can see what each part contributes.

Suddenly (dash - break out)
rán
Correct (thus - however)

How to write 突然

Stroke order is not decoration — it is what makes handwriting legible and what dictionary lookup by stroke count depends on.

Practise 突然 on printable 田字格 sheets, trace it in the writing practice tool, or watch any other character in the Stroke Order Animator.

突然 in a sentence

天突然下雨了。
Tiān tūrán xià yǔ le.
It suddenly started raining.
他突然站起来走了。
Tā tūrán zhàn qǐlai zǒu le.
He suddenly stood up and left.

Every sentence on this site that uses 突然 is collected on the 突然 sentence page. Want pinyin above a sentence of your own? Paste it into the Pinyin Annotator.

Questions about 突然

What does 突然 mean in English?

突然 is pronounced tūrán and means Sudden (abrupt - unexpected).

How do you pronounce 突然?

突然 is tūrán in pinyin — written turan without tone marks. Press the audio button on this page to hear it spoken by a native voice.

What are the characters in 突然?

突然 is written with 2 characters: 突 (tū) Suddenly (dash - break out), 然 (rán) Correct (thus - however). Knowing the parts is usually how the whole word becomes memorable.

Is 突然 an HSK word?

Yes — 突然 is on the official HSK 3 vocabulary list. You can study it with the rest of that list on the HSK 3 page.

Studied around the same time

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Translate a whole sentence containing 突然 with the Chinese to Pinyin translator, study it alongside the rest of HSK 3, drill it with HSK flashcards, or save it above and review it on your review deck.

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