Definition
居然 (jū rán) is an adverb meaning 'unexpectedly, actually' and often carries a tone of surprise mixed with mild disapproval or disbelief that something happened contrary to expectation. Compared to 竟然 (jìng rán), which is neutral and simply states unexpectedness, 居然 implies a stronger 'how could it be?' feeling. 竟 (jìng) is a more literary alternative used in formal writing.
adverb
unexpectedlycontrary to one's expectation(used before a verb) actuallygo so far as to (with a tone of surprise or disapproval)
Easily confused
- 固然gù ránlook-alike(conjunction) admittedly, it is true that… (used to concede a point before a contrasting statement)
Examples
- 居然，。Jīntiān jū rán xià yǔ le, wǒ wàng le dài sǎn.It actually rained today, and I forgot my umbrella.
- ，居然。Tā píngshí bú ài shuōhuà, jū rán zài huì shàng dì yī ge fāyán.He usually doesn't like to talk, but he was the first to speak at the meeting — to everyone's surprise.
- ，居然！Zhème nán de wèntí, nǐ jū rán dá duì le!You actually answered such a difficult question correctly!
Grammar
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