居然

Chinese

		reside	so; thus; like this so; thus; like this; ‑ly; correct; right
trad. (居然)		居	然
simp. #(居然)		居	然

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): jūrán

  (Zhuyin): ㄐㄩ ㄖㄢˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): geoi¹ jin⁴ / geoi¹ jin^4-2

• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): ku-liân / kir-liân / ki-jiân

  (Teochew, Peng'im): ge¹ riang⁵

• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ¹ciu-zoe

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: jūrán
    • Zhuyin: ㄐㄩ ㄖㄢˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: jyurán
    • Wade–Giles: chü¹-jan²
    • Yale: jyū-rán
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jiuran
    • Palladius: цзюйжань (czjujžanʹ)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕy⁵⁵ ʐän³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: geoi¹ jin⁴ / geoi¹ jin^4-2
    • Yale: gēui yìhn / gēui yín
    • Cantonese Pinyin: goey¹ jin⁴ / goey¹ jin^4-2
    • Guangdong Romanization: gêu¹ yin⁴ / gêu¹ yin^4-2
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɵy̯⁵⁵ jiːn²¹/, /kɵy̯⁵⁵ jiːn²¹⁻³⁵/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: ku-liân
    • Tâi-lô: ku-liân
    • Phofsit Daibuun: kulieen
    • IPA (Xiamen): /ku⁴⁴⁻²² liɛn²⁴/
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kir-liân
    • Tâi-lô: kir-liân
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /kɯ³³ liɛn²⁴/
  • (Hokkien: Zhangzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: ki-jiân
    • Tâi-lô: ki-jiân
    • Phofsit Daibuun: kijieen
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /ki⁴⁴⁻²² d͡ziɛn¹³/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: ge¹ riang⁵
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: kṳ jiâng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɯ³³⁻²³ d͡ziaŋ⁵⁵/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ¹ciu-zoe
    • MiniDict: ciu^平 zoe
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ¹jy-zoe
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /t͡ɕy⁵⁵ zø²¹/

Adverb

居然

1. unexpectedly; to one's surprise; surprisingly

   他居然沒有給客人準備煙、酒、飲料、糖、瓜子或茶葉。 [MSC, trad.]
   他居然没有给客人准备烟、酒、饮料、糖、瓜子或茶叶。 [MSC, simp.]

   Tā jūrán méiyǒu gěi kèrén zhǔnbèi yān, jiǔ, yǐnliào, táng, guāzǐ huò cháyè. [Pinyin]

   Unexpectedly, he hadn't prepared cigarettes, liquor or other beverages, sweets, melon seeds, or tea for the guests.

2. (literary) obviously; apparently

   • 答曰：「日遠。不聞人從日邊來，居然可知。」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     答曰：「日远。不闻人从日边来，居然可知。」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: c. 439-444, 世說新語 (Shìshuōxīnyǔ) (Shishuo Xinyu)

     Dá yuē: “Rì yuǎn. Bù wén rén cóng rì biān lái, jūrán kězhī.” [Pinyin]

     He replied, 'it’s abundantly clear that the Sun is farther away because never have I heard of anyone coming from there.'

Synonyms

edit

• 先勿先 (Wu)
• 出乎意料地 (chūhūyìliào de)
• 煞 (Hokkien)
• 硬敢 (Liuzhou)
• 竟 (jìng)
• 竟然 (jìngrán)

 

Dialectal synonyms of 居然 (“unexpectedly; to one's surprise; surprisingly”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		居然, 竟然, 竟
Northeastern Mandarin	Taiwan	居然, 竟然
	Singapore	竟然
Southwestern Mandarin	Liuzhou	敢, 硬敢
Jianghuai Mandarin	Yangzhou	居然
Cantonese	Guangzhou	竟然
	Hong Kong	竟然, 居然, 竟然間
Southern Min	Xiamen	煞, 竟然
	Quanzhou	煞, 竟然
	Zhangzhou	煞, 竟然
	Tainan	煞, 竟然
	Jieyang	夰, 紲, 一回, 落, 敢敢
Wu	Shanghai	居然, 竟然, 竟, 先勿先, 伊講