Chinese word dictionary

当然

dāngrán · only natural; as it should be; certainly; of course; without doubt

Practice word

Word information

Simplified当然

Traditional當然

Pinyindāngrán

Part of speech副

HSK 3.03

HSK 2.03

Character breakdown

Study each Hanzi separately, then return to the complete word so pronunciation, meaning, and movement stay connected.

当dāng

appropriate, timely; to act, to serve; the sound of bells

然rán

certainly; naturally; suddenly

How to learn 当然

Listen once without reading, repeat the pinyin with its tones, then write every character in sequence. Finally, recall the complete meaning instead of memorizing each character as an isolated translation.

When the word appears in a sentence, check whether its part of speech and meaning match the definition shown here. Chinese words can change nuance with context.

Related vocabulary

Words with the same characters

Compare how a familiar Hanzi changes meaning inside another word.

虽然suīrán

although; even though (often used correlatively with 可是[ke3 shi4] or 但是[dan4 shi4] etc)

然后ránhòu

then; after that; afterwards

突然tūrán

sudden; abrupt; unexpected

大自然dàzìrán

nature (the natural world)

当dāng

(onom.) dong; ding dong (bell); to be; to act as; manage; withstand; when; during; ought; should; match equally; equal; same; obstruct; just at (a time or place); on the spot; right; just at

当时dāngshí

then; at that time; while