Dictionary › 竟然

竟然

jìng rán

Old HSK 4 HSK 3.0 level 4 2-character word

竟然 (jìng rán) means "unexpectedly". It is an HSK 3.0 level 4 word, and was HSK 4 in the old six-level list.

What 竟然 means

1. unexpectedly
2. to one's surprise
3. in spite of everything
4. in that crazy way
5. actually
6. to go as far as to

How 竟然 is used in grammar

竟然 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.

• Attitude adverbs: 偏偏/偶尔/竟然/随便 (HSK 4)

The official HSK 3.0 grammar outline lists it at level 4, adverbs (语气副词).

The characters in 竟然

• 竟jìngunexpectedly; actually; to go so far as to
• 然ráncorrect; right; so

Example sentences

• 他竟然叫你笨蛋。
  He unexpectedly called you stupid.
• 他竟然还给我装傻。
  Tā jìngrán huángěi wǒ zhuāngshǎ.
  Despite everything he is still playing dumb.
• 买票的人龙竟然那幺长！
  The queue for buying tickets was unbelievably long.
• 我很惊讶竟然看到了狮子。
  Wǒ hěn jīngyà jìngrán kàn dào le shīzi.
  I was surprised to see a lion.
• 我很惊讶你竟然那么天真。
  Wǒ hěn jīngyà nǐ jìngrán nàme tiānzhēn.
  I'm surprised that you're so naïve.
• 我很惊讶您竟然那么天真。
  Wǒ hěn jīngyà nín jìngrán nàme tiānzhēn.
  I'm surprised that you're so naïve.

Where 竟然 is taught

In the GraphChinese course it is part of Modal & certainty adverbs (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 jìng rán correctly.
• Look up another word in the free dictionary.