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(rán) - so, thus, in that way in Mandarin

rán

Traditional: 然

#2586 of 5,000 Core 5000

Translation

so, thus, in that way

Word origin

Originally the graph for burning, showing meat and a dog over fire, later borrowed for the adverb meaning thus, at which point 燃 was created to carry the sense of burning.

Origin
borrowed graph
Root
月 (meat) + 犬 (dog) + 灬 (fire)

Stroke order

Stroke order for 然

然

Examples

，。

We will eat first, and then go and see a film.

，。

Although he is very tired, he is still working.

。

He of course knows about this matter.

。

It suddenly went quiet outside.

。

This is a perfectly natural thing.

然 (rán) means so, thus, in that way. On its own it belongs to classical Chinese, where it worked as a demonstrative adverb and as an adjective meaning correct, and that older life survives in set phrases such as 不以为然, to think otherwise.

In modern Mandarin you meet 然 almost entirely as a bound second syllable that turns a stem into an adverb or a connector: 然后 and then, 虽然 although, 当然 of course, 突然 suddenly, 自然 naturally, 果然 sure enough. Learning the character pays off because it unlocks a whole family of very common words at once.

The trap is expecting to use it alone. English speakers who have learnt that 然 means thus sometimes try to drop it into a sentence as a standalone word, and it lands as archaic and odd. Treat it as a building block, not a word you speak, and note that the fire radical 灬 underneath has nothing to do with any of the modern meanings.

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Used in

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Mandarin · Free printables

然: worksheet, infographic and listicle

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This word is part of lesson 52.