HSK 6 · VERSION 2.0#27

Expressing “Unexpectedly” with “jūrán”

居然

jūrán

How it works

居然 (jūrán) means “unexpectedly,” “to one’s surprise,” or “actually / even...” when the result goes against the speaker’s expectation.

It often expresses surprise, disbelief, criticism, or emotional reaction.

Compared with 竟然 (jìngrán), 居然 (jūrán) is often slightly more spoken and emotionally colored.

他明明知道后果有多严重，最后居然还是选择了同样的做法。

Tā míngmíng zhīdào hòuguǒ yǒu duō yánzhòng, zuìhòu jūrán háishi xuǎnzé le tóngyàng de zuòfǎ.

He clearly knew how serious the consequences would be, yet in the end he unexpectedly still chose the same approach.

这么重要的会议，他居然连最基本的材料都没有准备好。

Zhème zhòngyào de huìyì, tā jūrán lián zuì jīběn de cáiliào dōu méiyǒu zhǔnbèi hǎo.

For such an important meeting, he unexpectedly had not even prepared the most basic materials.

原本大家都不看好的项目，最后居然成了公司今年最成功的案例之一。

Yuánběn dàjiā dōu bù kànhǎo de xiàngmù, zuìhòu jūrán chéng le gōngsī jīnnián zuì chénggōng de ànlì zhī yī.

A project that no one had been optimistic about unexpectedly became one of the company’s most successful cases this year.

居然 (jūrán) highlights strong surprise from the speaker’s point of view and often carries emotional attitude.