突然
HSK 3 (exam 2025)HSK 3 (2021)Old HSK 3
突然 (tūrán) · suddenly
突然 (tūrán) means “suddenly; sudden”. It is written with 2 characters: 突 (sudden) + 然 (certainly). It is an HSK 3 word in the current exam syllabus (2025).
How 突然 is built
The characters
突 tū · sudden
What 突 is made of
- 穴xué — cave
- 宀 — roof
- 丶 — dot
- 冖mì — cover
- 八bā — eight
- 宀 — roof
- 犬quǎn — dog
- 大dà — big
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 人rén — person
- 丶 — dot
- 大dà — big
Origin hint: A dog 犬 rushing out of a cave 穴 (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)
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
天突然下起了大雨。Tiān tūrán xià qǐ le dà yǔ.It suddenly started raining heavily.
他突然走了，大家都很奇怪。Tā tūrán zǒu le, dàjiā dōu hěn qíguài.He left suddenly, and everyone was puzzled.
Questions about 突然
What does 突然 mean?
突然 (tūrán) means “suddenly; sudden”.
How do you pronounce 突然?
突然 is pronounced tūrán.
Which HSK level is 突然?
突然 is in HSK 3 (exam 2025) and HSK 3 (2021) and Old HSK 3.
Related words
- 突出tūchūoutstanding
- 冲突chōngtūconflict
- 突破tūpòto break through
- 大自然dàzìránnature (the natural world)
- 忽然hūránsuddenly
- 然后ránhòuthen
- 虽然suīránalthough
- 必然bìráninevitable
- 当然dāngránof course
- 果然guǒránsure enough
Learn 突然 with its group
It is part of HSK 3 (2021) · Group 41: a short group with quick checks and spaced repeats.