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 (Wugniu)
  • (Northern): ¹ciu-zoe

---

• 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
  • (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.

Synonyms

• 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
Mandarin	Taiwan	居然, 竟然
	Liuzhou	敢, 硬敢
	Yangzhou	居然
	Singapore	竟然
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
Wu	Shanghai	居然, 竟然, 竟, 先勿先