暴 bào — sudden; violent; cruel; to show or expose; to injure
昨晚下了一场暴雨。Zuó wǎn xià le yì chǎng bào yǔ.Last night there was a rainstorm.
Common words: 暴雨 (bào yǔ)、暴力 (bào lì)、暴露 (bào lù)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "sudden"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "sudden", including 暴 (bào), 骤 (zhòu). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "sudden" covers 2 different Chinese characters — 暴 (bào), 骤 (zhòu) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 2 characters do not share a sound — their readings span bào, zhòu — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 暴 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 暴 bàosudden; violent; cruel; to show or expose; to injureUseful words: 暴雨, 暴力
- 骤 zhòusudden; suddenlyUseful words: 步骤, 骤然
Common words for these 2 "sudden" characters
Anchor each of these 2 characters in a word you can picture — start with 暴 (bào) — so "sudden" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 2 ways to say "sudden".
骤 zhòu — sudden; suddenly
天气骤然变冷，大家都加了衣服。Tiān qì zhòu rán biàn lěng, dà jiā dōu jiā le yī fu.The weather suddenly turned cold, and everyone added clothes.
Common words: 步骤 (bù zhòu)、骤然 (zhòu rán)、暴风骤雨 (bào fēng zhòu yǔ)
All 2 characters
Open 暴、骤 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.