决然 (jué rán) — (literary) resolutely; decidedly

Definition

Literary adverb meaning 'resolutely, with no hesitation.' Stronger and more formal than 毅然, with a sense of cutting off other options entirely.

adverb

(literary) resolutelydecidedly

决然。
Tā jué rán lí kāi le nà ge dì fāng.
He resolutely left that place.
，决然。
Miàn duì kùn nan, tā jué rán xuǎn zé le jiān chí.
Facing difficulties, she resolutely chose to persist.
决然。
Tā jué rán fǎn duì zhè ge jiàn yì.
He resolutely opposed this suggestion.

Derived word

构词法gòucífǎ

后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

决juéresolute

决 and 然 convey resolutely, in a determined way.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 決; 决 is its simplified writing.

氵夬決

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐ

Sound part声符shēngfú

夬

夬guài決jué

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 決 has 氵 (water) and 夬, which gives the sound. This describes 決, not the simplified 决.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

肰

肰rán然rán

Same sound today

然 is made from 肰, which gives the sound, and 火, which shows fire, matching the old sense 'to burn'.