截然

jiérán

adverb #26,506

Meanings

1 sharply
2 distinctly
3 radically (different)

Characters

to cut off / to sever

so / like that (suffix)

Examples

他们两人的性格截然不同。

Tāmen liǎng rén de xìnggé jiérán bùtóng.

The two of them have completely different personalities.

这两种方法截然相反。

Zhè liǎng zhǒng fāngfǎ jiérán xiāngfǎn.

These two approaches are diametrically opposed.

Tips

usage

截然 almost always appears before 不同 (different), 相反 (opposite), or 对立 (opposed). It is rarely used with positive comparisons. The collocation 截然不同 is a very common fixed phrase.

Stroke Order

截 jié

然 rán