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竟然

jìngrán

unexpectedly

Usage note

竟然用来表示出乎意料的情况，通常用于描述令人惊讶的结果或事情。

jìngrán láiyòng bǎo shí chū yú yì yù de kuàng jí, tōng cháng yòng yǔ miáo huì lèng róng jiāo rǎng de gěi guǒ huò shì qing.

竟然 is used to indicate something unexpected. It's typically used to describe surprising results or situations.

Context note

竟然常用于描述日常生活中出乎意料的情况，比如朋友突然邀请你去旅行。

jìngrán cháng yòng yǔ miáo huì rì cháng shēn zhōng chū yú yì yù de kuàng jí, bǐ 如 朋 友 tūrán qǐliào nǐ qù lǚxíngróng.

竟然 is often used to describe unexpected situations in daily life, such as a friend suddenly inviting you on a trip.

5 examples

他竟然赢了这场比赛。
tā jìng rán yíng le zhè chǎng bǐ sài。
He unexpectedly won this match.
竟然下雨了，我们只好待在家里。
jìng rán xià yǔ le， wǒ men zhǐ hǎo dài zài jiā lǐ。
It started raining, so we had to stay home.
她竟然忘记了这件事。
tā jìng rán wàng jì le zhè jiàn shì。
She surprisingly forgot about this matter.
竟然没有人来参加派对。
jìng rán méi yǒu rén lái cān jiā pài duì。
Surprisingly, no one came to the party.
他竟然通过了考试。
tā jìng rán tōng guò le kǎo shì。
He unexpectedly passed the exam.

5 mini stories

妈妈竟然同意带我们去游乐园玩了一整天。
mā ma jìng rán tóng yì dài wǒ men qù yóu lè yuán wán le yì zhěng tiān。
Mom surprisingly agreed to take us to the amusement park for a whole day.
我竟然在图书馆找到了这本书。
wǒ jìng rán zài tú shū guǎn zhǎo dào le zhè běn shū。
I unexpectedly found this book in the library.
他竟然忘记了带钥匙，结果被困在家里。
tā jìng rán wàng jì le dài yào shi， jié guǒ bèi kùn zài jiā lǐ。
He surprisingly forgot to bring his keys and got stuck at home.
她竟然在公园里遇到了老朋友。
tā jìng rán zài gōng yuán lǐ yù dào le lǎo péng yǒu。
She unexpectedly ran into an old friend in the park.
我们竟然在最后一分钟赢得了比赛。
wǒ men jìng rán zài zuì hòu yì fēn zhōng yíng dé le bǐ sài。
We surprisingly won the match at the last minute.

Mini dialogue

竟然下雨

A
今天天气很好，下午竟然下雨了。
Jīntiān tiānqì hěn hǎo, xiàwǔ jìngrán xià yǔ le.
The weather was nice today, but it unexpectedly rained in the afternoon.
B
是啊，我竟然没带伞。
Shì a, wǒ jìngrán méi dài sǎn.
Yes, I unexpectedly didn't bring an umbrella.

竟然会做饭

A
你竟然会做蛋糕？太厉害了！
Nǐ jìngrán huì zuò dàngāo? Tài lìhài le!
You can unexpectedly bake a cake? That's amazing!
B
我上周刚学的，没想到竟然成功了。
Wǒ shàng zhōu gāng xué de, méi xiǎngdào jìngrán chénggōng le.
I just learned it last week; I didn't expect it to unexpectedly succeed.

Related words and contrasts

similar
居然
jū rán
unexpectedly, to one's surprise

Both express surprise, but 竟然 is slightly more formal.

opposite
果然
guǒ rán
as expected

竟然 means 'unexpectedly'; 果然 means 'as expected'.

Explore more words

的 / de我 / wǒ你 / nǐ是 / shì了 / le不 / bù在 / zài他 / tā