Meaning of 当然
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- only natural
- as it should be
- certainly
- of course
- without doubt
How to use 当然
当然 is very common in speech as a one-word answer meaning "of course" or "sure." It can also go before a verb or at the start of a sentence to mean "certainly." Example: 你会来吗？当然会。(Nǐ huì lái ma? Dāngrán huì.) Will you come? Of course I will.
当 (dāng) means "should" or "ought to," and 然 (rán) means "so" or "like this." Put them together and you get "it should be so," which is exactly what "of course" means.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes say 当然 with a fourth tone on 当, as in 当 (dàng, "to treat as"). In 当然 it is always first tone, dāngrán. Also, 当然 is not the same as 当时 (dāngshí, "at that time"), even though they share the first character.
当然 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
当 dāng · to be · 6 strokes
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然 rán · certainly · 12 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 当然.
| 然后 | ránhòu | then; after that; afterwards |
| 当时 | dāngshí | then; at that time |
| 虽然 | suīrán | although; even though (often used correlatively with 可是[ke3 shi4] or 但是[dan4 shi4] etc) |
| 大自然 | dàzìrán | nature (the natural world) |
| 忽然 | hūrán | suddenly; all of a sudden |
| 突然 | tūrán | sudden; abrupt; unexpected |
| 仍然 | réngrán | still; as before; yet |
| 显然 | xiǎnrán | clearly; evidently; obviously |
| 自然 | zìrán | nature; natural |
| 相当 | xiāngdāng | equivalent to; appropriate |
| 果然 | guǒrán | really; sure enough |
| 当中 | dāngzhōng | among; in the middle |
Questions about 当然
What does 当然 mean?
当然 (dāngrán) means "only natural; as it should be" and is used as a adjective and adverb.
How do you write 当然?
当然 is made of 2 characters: 当 (6 strokes), 然 (12 strokes). That is 18 strokes in total.
Is 当然 an HSK word?
Yes. 当然 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 当然 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 当然 is written 當然.
Is 当然 polite or can it sound rude?
It is usually friendly and natural, like "sure" in English. But if you answer a sincere question with a flat 当然, it can sound like "obviously," so tone of voice matters.
Can 当然 be used as an adjective?
Yes. It can describe something as natural or only to be expected, often with 是...的, as in 这是当然的。(Zhè shì dāngrán de.) That goes without saying.