偶然 (ǒurán) · by chance

偶然 (ǒurán) means “by chance; accidental; occasionally”. It is written with 2 characters: 偶 (accidentally) + 然 (certainly). It is an old HSK 5 word (HSK 2.0).

How 偶然 is built

The characters

偶 ǒu · accidentally

What 偶 is made of

亻rén — person
禺yú — district
- 日rì — sun; day
  - 口kǒu — mouth
  - 一 — horizontal stroke
- 禸róu — rump
  - 冂 — frame
  - 厶sī — private

然 rán · certainly

What 然 is made of

肰rán — dog meat
- ⺼ — meat
- 犬quǎn — dog
  - 大dà — big
  - 丶 — dot
灬huǒ — fire

Origin hint: 灬 gives the meaning, 肰 gives the sound. (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)

Example sentences

我在街上偶然遇到了老同学。Wǒ zài jiēshàng ǒurán yùdào le lǎo tóngxué.I ran into an old classmate on the street by chance.

这不是偶然的，是他努力的结果。Zhè bù shì ǒurán de, shì tā nǔlì de jiéguǒ.This isn't luck, it's the result of his hard work.

Questions about 偶然

What does 偶然 mean?

偶然 (ǒurán) means “by chance; accidental; occasionally”.

How do you pronounce 偶然?

偶然 is pronounced ǒurán.

Which HSK level is 偶然?

偶然 is in Old HSK 5.

Related words

Learn 偶然 with its group

It is part of Old HSK 5 · Group 69: a short group with quick checks and spaced repeats.

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