What Does 居然 (jū rán) Mean in Chinese?
Reviewed context lessonCommon
Unexpectedly / To my surprise
Quick answer: What does 居然 mean?
居然 — 居然 emphasizes that an event goes against what the speaker expected.
✓To my surprise…
✓Unexpectedly…
✓I can’t believe that…
What Chinese people actually mean
It can express pleasant surprise or criticism. The speaker’s expectation is the key; without it, “unexpectedly” alone may miss the tone.
Chinese characters
Open each character to see its own meanings and vocabulary links.
Real conversations
1 · An unexpected skill
A: 他居然会说中文。
tā jūrán huì shuō Zhōngwén.
A: He can actually speak Chinese—I didn’t expect that.
B: 真的？我不知道。
zhēn de? wǒ bù zhīdào.
B: Really? I didn’t know.
2 · A disappointing omission
A: 他居然没告诉你？
tā jūrán méi gàosu nǐ?
A: He didn’t even tell you?
B: 对，我也是刚知道。
duì, wǒ yě shì gāng zhīdào.
B: No. I just found out too.
How to pronounce 居然
居然
Tap to hear Mandarin.
When to use it
✓The surprise can be positive or negative.
✓Often appears before the unexpected action.
✓竟然 is similar; surrounding tone matters more than a strict dictionary distinction.
Sources and editorial note
Base dictionary data: CC-CEDICT · CC BY-SA 4.0.Context lesson: Original Chinese Meaning context lesson; examples written for this site.