居然

jūrán

adverb HSK 5 #1,043

Meanings

HSK 2

他居然通过了考试！

Tā jūrán tōngguò le kǎoshì!

He actually passed the exam!

HSK 3

这么简单的题他居然做错了。

Zhème jiǎndān de tí tā jūrán zuò cuò le.

He actually got such a simple question wrong.

HSK 4

没想到你居然会说中文。

Méixiǎngdào nǐ jūrán huì shuō Zhōngwén.

I didn't expect that you could actually speak Chinese.

usage

居然 always carries surprise or disbelief. It goes before the verb: 居然 + verb. The speaker finds the situation unexpected.

usage

居然 (surprised/disbelieving) vs 竟然 (similar but slightly more literary). Both express "unexpectedly."

居 jū

然 rán