Today I’ve decided to dedicate a post to the character 然, a rather useful little character that serves as a suffix. As a suffix, 然 helps form adjectives and abverbs and often can be considered the Chinese form of ‘-ly’. I’ve chosen a few words and examples to help illustrate its use.
The examples below are far from comprehensive and this post will only deal with a few examples. Other examples will be dealt with in future posts.
Let’s begin! 我们开始吧！
安然 - Peacefully :
Here we see the character for ‘peace’, 安, combined with the suffix 然 to form the word 安然, meaning ‘peacefully’ or ’safely’. For example, 安然入睡 means ‘to go to sleep peacefully’.
Combining 安然 with 无恙 (meaning ‘unhurt’) gives us 安然无恙, which could be translated as ’safe and sound’.
妈妈虽然摔了一跤，却安然无恙 - Although my mother fell, she was unhurt.
必然 - Inevitable, certain, certainly :
必然 is composed of the suffix 然 and the character 必, which on its own means ‘must’. It conveys the idea that a certain outcome was inevitable or is bound to happen.
他必然失败 - He’s bound to fail.
必然结果 - an inevitable outcome
必然 can also be used as a noun meaning ‘necessity’. For example, 自由和必然, meaning ‘freedom and necessity’ or 邪恶的必然, a ‘necessary evil’.
当然 - Of course, certainly :
How 当 combines with 然 to create 当然, meaning ‘of course’ or ‘certainly’ is something that still eludes me. I’m willing to believe that it is due to one of the many meanings of the character 当, which is ‘ought’ or ’should’. Perhaps it’s best just to approach 当然 as a unit rather than split it into its component characters…
A few examples of 当然 in use :
噢，当然可以! - Why, of course!
借你的笔用一下可以吗? —当然可以。- May I borrow your pen? Sure.
固然 - admittedly, no doubt :
Another combination worth learning as a unit is 固然, which means ‘admittedly’ or ‘no doubt’. 固然 is often used alongside 但 in order to convey the idea that while A is true, B is also true or a better option. It is also possible to convey the same idea without using 但, as shown in the second example below.
这样做固然是好，但还有更简单的方法 - While doing it this way is good, there is a much simpler way to do it.
聪明固然好，勤奋更重要 - Intelligence is good but hard work (diligence) is more important.
果然 - As expected, sure enough :
果然 is used to indicate that something has happened as expected. In some cases, the first part of a sentence will often tell us what the expectation or action is, while the rest of the sentence will give us a confirmation that things have indeed occured as expected. In other cases, as shown in the second example, it can be used as a way to say ‘If you really do…, then…’
他说他会来的，果然来了 - He said he could come and, sure enough, he did.
你果然爱他，就该帮助他 - If you really do love him, then you should help him.
忽然 - Suddenly :
While 忽 on its own can also mean ’suddenly’, it is often found paired with 然 to mean ’suddenly’ or ‘all of a sudden’.
那男孩忽然哭了起来 - That boy suddenly began crying.
我忽然明白了 - The truth suddenly dawned on me.
既然 - Since, this being the case :
既然 is often found at the start of a sentence to convey the idea of ’since’ or ‘this being the case’.
既然你无法回答这个问题，我们最好再问问别人 - Since you’re not able to answer this question, it’s probably best that we ask someone else.
既然你觉得桂林这么美，就索性多住几天吧 - Since you find Guilin so beautiful, why not stay a few more days?
竟然 - Unexpectedly :
竟然 is used to highlight that an action or result was unexpected or, depending on the context, out of character.
真奇怪，她竟然会如此粗暴无礼 - That’s odd. It’s not like her to be so rude.
他竟然拒绝了！- He actually refused!
TO BE CONTINUED….
I would like to let you all know that I am *rubbish* at teaching grammar and have tried my best to stay away from technical terms to avoid further confusion. There may be mistakes so please feel free to let me know if something’s wrong or if you have anything else to add.
The example sentences used above were taken from Dict.CN and NCIKU. Some of the translations are my own and may not be entirely correct.
