About
然 is a phono-semantic compound, combining the fire radical 灬 (火) at the bottom with the phonetic element 肰 on top. The component 肰 is itself made up of the meat radical ⺼ and the dog radical 犬. Together, they once conveyed the literal meaning "to burn". To prevent confusion, this original sense was later taken over by the character 燃, which adds another fire radical to the same structure. After losing its concrete meaning, 然 evolved into a purely grammatical word. Today it functions as a phonetic loan, employed as an adjective meaning "correct" or as a suffix that indicates a state of being or forms adverbs.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
我们先吃饭然后看电影。
我当然喜欢这本书。
天空突然下起雨来。
这里的风景很自然。
虽然下雨，但我们还是去了。
他果然通过了考试。
他竟然忘记了她的生日。
他欣然接受了我们的邀请。
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