HSK 4 grammar · adverb
竟然/居然
竟然/居然 — unexpectedly / to one's surprise
Pattern
+ +
( ) can be left out · other words may come before, between and after
How it works
An adverb before the verb expressing that the speaker finds the event surprising, hard to believe, or even improper. 竟然 and 居然 are largely interchangeable; both convey 'who would have thought' and often pair with 没想到.
Examples
他竟然把这件事忘了。
Tā jìngrán bǎ zhè jiàn shì wàng le.
He actually forgot about this — unbelievable.
这么难的题，她居然做对了。
Zhème nán de tí, tā jūrán zuò duì le.
Such a hard problem, and she surprisingly got it right.
Related
See it in a story
In the app, 竟然/居然 is underlined wherever it appears in the stories you read, and practised with sentences from them. Free.