然而 meaning in English

rán'ér

however; but; yet

HSK 4conjunction18 strokes

Meaning of 然而

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

rán'ér

however; but; yet

How to use 然而

然而 is a formal, written-style word for "however" that starts a clause contrasting with what came before. It often follows a comma or begins a new sentence. Example: 他很努力,然而还是失败了。(Tā hěn nǔlì, rán'ér háishi shībài le.) He worked very hard, yet he still failed.

然 (rán) means "so, like that" and 而 (ér) links ideas with a turn. Together 然而 says "it was so, and yet...", which gives you "however."

Common mistake: Learners often confuse 然而 (rán'ér, however) with 然后 (ránhòu, then, after that) because they share 然. 然后 shows sequence, while 然而 shows contrast.

然而 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

然rán而ér这zhè也yě算suàn不bù上shàng什shén么me像xiàng样yàng的de东dōng西xī。

But it isn't even worth calling stuff.

我wǒ很hěn累lèi, 然rán而ér, 我wǒ必bì须xū完wán成chéng我wǒ的de回huí家jiā作zuò业yè。

I am tired; nevertheless, I must finish my homework.

家jiā乐lè福fú的de火huǒ腿tuǐ剩shèng料liào一yì点diǎn都dōu不bù贵guì，然rán而ér却què很hěn好hǎo吃chī。

Carrefour's Ham offcuts are not expensive at all, but are nonetheless delicious.

尽jǐn管guǎn他tā是shì一yī周zhōu前qián才cái开kāi始shǐ学xué中zhōng文wén的de，然rán而ér他tā已yǐ经jīng认rèn识shí很hěn多duō字zì了le。

Despite the fact that he has only just started learning Chinese, he already knows lots of characters.

我wǒ们men按àn时shí预yù定dìng了le产chǎn品pǐn。然rán而ér，要yào到dào下xià个gè月yuè后hòu才cái能néng发fā货huò。

We ordered the products on time. However, they won’t be dispatched until next month.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

然 rán · certainly · 12 strokes

而 ér · and · 6 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 然而.

然后	ránhòu	then; after that; afterwards
而且	érqiě	(not only ...) but also; moreover; in addition; furthermore
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
当然	dāngrán	only natural; as it should be
突然	tūrán	sudden; abrupt; unexpected
仍然	réngrán	still; as before; yet
显然	xiǎnrán	clearly; evidently; obviously
自然	zìrán	nature; natural
果然	guǒrán	really; sure enough
必然	bìrán	inevitable; certain

Questions about 然而

What does 然而 mean?

然而 (rán'ér) means "however; but; yet" and is used as a conjunction.

How do you write 然而?

然而 is made of 2 characters: 然 (12 strokes), 而 (6 strokes). That is 18 strokes in total.

Is 然而 an HSK word?

Yes. 然而 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

What is the difference between 然而 and 但是?

Both mean "but" or "however," but 然而 sounds more formal and literary. In everyday speech, 但是 (dànshì) or 可是 (kěshì) are much more common. 然而 fits essays, news and speeches.

Can 然而 be used with 虽然?

Yes. 虽然 (suīrán) can introduce the first clause and 然而 the second, as in 虽然很难,然而他没有放弃 (Suīrán hěn nán, rán'ér tā méiyǒu fàngqì), "Although it was hard, he did not give up." This pairing sounds formal, and 但是 is more usual in casual speech.