Dictionary › 然而

然而

rán ér

Old HSK 4 HSK 3.0 level 4 2-character word

然而 (rán ér) means "however; yet; but". It is an HSK 3.0 level 4 word, and was HSK 4 in the old six-level list.

What 然而 means

1. however; but; yet

How 然而 is used in grammar

然而 is a grammar word. Each link goes to its own section: what it does in that pattern, the structure, three example sentences with pinyin, and the mistake to avoid.

• Formal vs. informal register differences (HSK 4)

The characters in 然而

• 然ráncorrect; right; so
• 而érand; as well as; and so

Words containing 然而

• 自然而然zì rán ér rán(idiom) natural; unforced; (idiom) naturally; as a matter of course…
• 油然而生yóu rán ér shēngarising involuntarily (idiom); spontaneous; to spring up unbidden (of emotion)
• 戛然而止jiá rán ér zhǐwith a grunting sound it stops (idiom); to come to an end spontaneously (esp. of sound)
• 不期然而然bù qī rán ér ránhappen unexpectedly; turn out contrary to one's expectations
• 霍然而愈huò rán ér yùto recover speedily (idiom); to get better quickly
• 翩然而至piān rán ér zhìcome trippingly
• 知其然而不知其所以然zhī qí rán ér bù zhī qí suǒ yǐ rán(saying) to know that it is so but not why it is so

Where 然而 is taught

In the GraphChinese course it is part of Logical connectives & conjunctions (HSK 4), each one a topic in the dependency graph of HSK 1–6 that opens only once its prerequisites are solid.

Go deeper

• Every HSK 4 word, with the rest of its level.
• The four tones and the neutral tone, to read rán ér correctly.
• Look up another word in the free dictionary.