竟然
jìng rán
HSK 4
unexpectedly, to one's surprise
adverb
Example Sentences
他竟然赢了比赛！
tā jìngrán yíngle bǐsài ！
He unexpectedly won the competition!
她竟然在考试中得了满分。
tā jìngrán zài kǎoshì zhōng déle mǎn fēn 。
She actually got a perfect score on the exam.
我竟然忘记了他的名字。
wǒ jìngrán wàngjì le tāde míngzì 。
I surprisingly forgot his name.
Individual Characters
Words with similar meanings
居然jūrán
surprisingly
居然 is often used interchangeably with 竟然, carrying a similar sense of surprise or unexpectedness but can feel slightly less formal.
果然guǒrán
actually
果然 indicates that something happened as one anticipated or expected, thus expressing an unexpected affirmation but with a slightly different nuance.
Words Ending With 然
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