忽 hū — suddenly
天气忽冷忽热，要小心感冒。Tiān qì hū lěng hū rè, yào xiǎo xīn gǎn mào.The weather is hot and cold by turns; be careful not to catch a cold.
Common words: 忽然 (hū rán)、忽视 (hū shì)、忽略 (hū lüè)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "suddenly"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "suddenly", including 忽 (hū), 俄 (é), 猛 (měng), 勃 (bó), 骤 (zhòu). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "suddenly" covers 5 different Chinese characters — 忽 (hū), 俄 (é), 猛 (měng), 勃 (bó), 骤 (zhòu) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 5 characters do not share a sound — their readings span hū, é, měng, bó, zhòu — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 忽 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 忽 hūsuddenlyUseful words: 忽然, 忽视
- 俄 ésuddenly; very soon; RussianUseful words: 俄而, 俄尔
- 猛 měngferocious; suddenly; fierce; violent; abruptUseful words: 猛烈, 凶猛
- 勃 bóflourishing; prosperous; suddenly; abruptlyUseful words: 兴致勃勃, 朝气蓬勃
- 骤 zhòusudden; suddenlyUseful words: 步骤, 骤然
Common words for these 5 "suddenly" characters
Anchor each of these 5 characters in a word you can picture — start with 忽 (hū) — so "suddenly" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
忽然hū ránsuddenly; all of a sudden忽视hū shìto neglect; to overlook; to disregard; to ignore忽略hū lüèto neglect; to overlook; to ignore俄而é ér(literary) very soon; before long俄尔é ěrsee 俄而俄期é qīabbr. for 俄狄浦斯期, oedipal phase猛烈měng lièfierce; violent; vigorous; intense凶猛xiōng měngfierce; violent; ferocious猛然měng ránsuddenly; abruptly兴致勃勃xìng zhì bó bóto become exhilarated (idiom); in high spirits; full of zest
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 5 ways to say "suddenly".
俄 é — suddenly; very soon; Russian
俄罗斯是世界上面积最大的国家。É luó sī shì shì jiè shàng miàn jī zuì dà de guó jiā.Russia is the largest country in the world by area.
Common words: 俄而 (é ér)、俄尔 (é ěr)、俄期 (é qī)
猛 měng — ferocious; suddenly; fierce; violent; abrupt
他猛地站了起来。Tā měng de zhàn le qǐ lái.He suddenly stood up.
Common words: 猛烈 (měng liè)、凶猛 (xiōng měng)、猛然 (měng rán)
勃 bó — flourishing; prosperous; suddenly; abruptly
春天到了，万物生机勃勃。Chūn tiān dào le, wàn wù shēng jī bó bó.Spring has come, and everything is full of vitality.
Common words: 兴致勃勃 (xìng zhì bó bó)、朝气蓬勃 (zhāo qì péng bó)、蓬勃 (péng bó)
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 5 characters
Open 忽、俄、猛 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.