顿然

頓然

dùnrán

adverb

Meanings

1 suddenly
2 abruptly
3 all of a sudden

Characters

pause / suddenly

-ly (adverbial suffix)

Examples

HSK 3

听到这话，他顿然明白了。

Tīngdào zhè huà, tā dùnrán míngbai le.

Hearing this, he suddenly understood.

HSK 7-9

天空顿然变得阴暗。

Tiānkōng dùnrán biàn de yīn'àn.

The sky abruptly turned dark.

Tips

register

Slightly literary. The everyday equivalents are 突然 and 忽然; 顿然 is preferred in writing where it carries a hint of 'in a flash, a switch flipped'.

Stroke Order

顿 dùn

然 rán