Writing
竟然 (jìngrán) — how to say "unexpectedly" in Chinese
竟然
Unexpectedly, actually
modal adverb
How to use it
Goes before the verb and shows the speaker's attitude.
他竟然迟到了。
tā jìng rán chí dào le
He unexpectedly showed up late.
Character composition
竟
unexpectedly, to one's surprise
然
adverbial suffix
Radicals / Keys
火
Fire
#86 · huǒ · 4 strokes
音
Sound
#180 · yīn · 9 strokes
Synonyms
Collocations
竟然成功
jìngrán chénggōng
unexpectedly succeeded
竟然不知道
jìngrán bù zhīdào
unexpectedly didn't know
竟然忘了
jìngrán wàng le
unexpectedly forgot
Examples
他平时学习不太努力，这次考试竟然考了第一名。
He usually doesn't study very hard, but he actually got first place on this exam.
他竟然来了。
He actually came.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say "unexpectedly" in Chinese?
"unexpectedly" in Chinese is 竟然 (jìngrán).
What does 竟然 mean in English?
竟然 (jìngrán) means "Unexpectedly, actually".
How is 竟然 pronounced?
It is pronounced jìngrán (written as jingran). You can listen to the pronunciation on this page.
How do you write "unexpectedly" in Chinese characters?
It is written 竟然: 竟 has 11 strokes, 然 has 12 strokes. The Writing section above animates the stroke order of each character and lets you trace it.
What HSK level is 竟然?
竟然 belongs to the HSK 4 vocabulary list.
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