忽然

Pattern visualization

Examples

1. 天忽然下起了大雨。▶ —
   It suddenly started to pour.
2. 他忽然想起了一件重要的事。▶ —
   He suddenly remembered an important matter.

Collocations

Mnemonic

忽 hū "suddenly" + 然 rán "thus": all at once, i.e. "suddenly". Marks something happening without warning. Nearly the same as 突然, but 忽然 is used only adverbially, while 突然 can also be an adjective (很突然).

Related

Quick check

1. What is a grammatical difference between 忽然 and 突然?

   • 突然 can be an adjective (很突然); 忽然 is adverb only
   • opposite meanings
   • 忽然 is future-only
   • both are nouns