How common it is
忽然 appears often in everyday Chinese, so it is worth practicing early and reviewing often.
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Pronunciation focus
Say hūrán slowly first, then repeat it in a short phrase. Listen for the tone shape.
Usage note
“忽然”用来表示事情突然发生，比如突然下雨或者突然想起某件事。
hūrán lái yòng biǎoshì shìqíng tūrán fāshēng, rúkě tūrán xiàyǔ huòzhě tūrán qǐxīng mǒu jiànɡè.
"忽然" is used to indicate that something happens suddenly, such as suddenly raining or suddenly remembering something.
Context note
“忽然”常用于描述日常生活中的意外情况，比如突然停电、突然听到敲门声等。
hūrán cháng yòng wéiyú miáo huì rìkāi shēnghuó zhōng de yìwài kuàngqíng, bǐrú tūrán dǎdian, tūrán tīngdào qiāokè ménshēng děng.
"忽然" is often used to describe unexpected situations in daily life, such as a sudden power outage or suddenly hearing someone knocking on the door.
5 examples
忽然，天空中飘来一朵乌云。
hū rán， tiān kōng zhōng piāo lái yì duǒ wū yún。
Suddenly, a dark cloud drifted into the sky.
妈妈忽然想起忘记带钥匙了。
mā ma hū rán xiǎng qǐ wàng jì dài yào shi le。
Mom suddenly realized she had forgotten to bring her keys.
外面忽然下起了大雨。
wài miàn hū rán xià qǐ le dà yǔ。
It suddenly started raining heavily outside.
他忽然听到有人在门外说话。
tā hū rán tīng dào yǒu rén zài mén wài shuō huà。
He suddenly heard someone talking outside the door.
比赛开始前，忽然下起了小雨。
bǐ sài kāi shǐ qián， hū rán xià qǐ le xiǎo yǔ。
Just before the competition started, it suddenly began to rain lightly.
5 mini stories
一天，他正在看书，忽然听到敲门声。
yì tiān， tā zhèng zài kàn shū， hū rán tīng dào qiāo mén shēng。
One day, he was reading a book when he suddenly heard someone knocking on the door.
晚上，她正要睡觉，忽然想起明天的考试。
wǎn shàng， tā zhèng yào shuì jiào， hū rán xiǎng qǐ míng tiān de kǎo shì。
That night, she was about to go to sleep when she suddenly remembered her exam tomorrow.
他正在路上走着，忽然看到一个老朋友。
tā zhèng zài lù shang zǒu zhe， hū rán kàn dào yí gè lǎo péng yǒu。
He was walking down the street when he suddenly saw an old friend.
她正要出门，忽然想起忘记带钱包了。
tā zhèng yào chū mén， hū rán xiǎng qǐ wàng jì dài qián bāo le。
She was about to go out when she suddenly realized she had forgotten her wallet.
他正在做饭，忽然闻到一股奇怪的味道。
tā zhèng zài zuò fàn， hū rán wén dào yì gǔ qí guài de wèi dào。
He was cooking when he suddenly smelled something strange.