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忽然(hūrán) vs 突然(tūrán)

忽然(hūrán)

忽然 is an adverb which can only be an adverbial modifier in a sentence. Plus,

there should not be any adverb of degree before it.

For example,
I suddenly miss home very much.
⚫ 我忽然非常想家。(Wǒ hūrán fēicháng xiǎng jiā.) √
⚫ 我非常忽然想家。(Wǒ fēicháng hūrán xiǎng jiā.) X

I got up too early today, I suddenly got sleepy.

⚫ 今天起床太早，我忽然有点儿困了。(Jīntiān qǐchuáng tài zǎo, wǒ hūrán yǒudiǎnr kùnle.)
√
⚫ 今天起床太早，我有点儿忽然困了。(Jīntiān qǐchuáng tài zǎo, wǒ yǒudiǎnr hūrán kùnle.)
×

突然(tūrán)

突然 is an adjective which can be a predicate, an attributive, a complement, as

well as adverbial modifier. Moreover, the adverb of degree can modify the word.

For example,
⚫ 这个事情很突然。(Zhège shìqíng hěn tūrán.) This thing is very sudden.
-> As predicate

⚫ 这个突然的消息让人很意外。(Zhège tūrán de xiāoxī ràng rén hěn yìwài.)

This sudden news is very surprising.
-> As attributive

⚫ 这场雨下得很突然。 （Zhè chǎng yǔ xià dé hěn tūrán.）This rain is very sudden.

->As complement
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⚫ 我突然非常想家。 （Wǒ tūrán fēicháng xiǎng jiā.）I suddenly miss home very much.
->Adverbial modifier

Now let’s do some practice to review. Please fill in the blanks with “忽然” or “突

然” to complete the sentences.

1. He suddenly ran in.

他______就跑进来了。
(Tā ______ jiù pǎo jìnlái le.)

2. He died too suddenly.

他去世得太_______了。
(Tā qùshì dé tài ______ nle.)

3. This sudden rain makes us a little bit surprising.

这________的雨让我们有点惊讶。
(Zhè_______de yǔ ràng wǒmen yǒudiǎn jīngyà.)

4. This news is very sudden.

这个消息非常_______。
(Zhège xiāoxī fēicháng ______.)

5. Suddenly, the office becomes very quiet.

_____，办公室变得很安静。
(_____, bàngōngshì biàn dé hěn ānjìng.)

6. It`s suddenly cold today.

今天_______冷起来了。
(Jīntiān ______ lěng qǐláile.)
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Key:

1. 他突然/忽然就跑进来了。

2. 他去世得太突然了。

3. 这突然的雨让我们有点惊讶。

4. 这个消息非常突然。

5. 忽然/突然，办公室变得很安静。

6. 今天突然/忽然冷起来了。