HSK 2 · Modal Verbs

虽然 suīrán “although” in Chinese

Traditional 雖然

What 虽然 means

  1. although
  2. even though (often used correlatively with 可是 or 但是 etc)

How to say 虽然

  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale虽suī1st tone, high and level
  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale然rán2nd tone, rising

虽然 in a sentence

  1. 虽然他是中国人，但他不会说中文。

    Suīrán tā shì Zhōngguórén, dàn tā bú huì shuō Zhōngwén.

    Although he’s Chinese, he can’t speak Chinese.

    Sentence #10019733 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 这本书虽然很厚，但是不贵。

    Zhè běn shū suīrán hěn hòu, dànshì bú guì.

    Although this book is thick, it isn’t expensive.

    Sentence #8976063 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 我虽然喜欢吃葡萄，但是我吃不了那么多。

    Wǒ suīrán xǐhuan chī pútao, dànshì wǒ chī bu liǎo nàme duō.

    Although I like grapes, I can’t eat that many.

    Sentence #8936297 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 虽然 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 虽 (suī) with each of its parts in a different colour
虽suīalthough
  • 口mouth · kǒu
  • 虫insect · chóng
The character 然 (rán) with each of its parts in a different colour
然ráncorrect
  • 肰dog meat · ránSound part
  • 灬fire form of 火 · huǒMeaning part

灬 hints at the meaning (fire); 肰 (rán) hints at the sound. Compare it with rán.

Memory aidFire 灬 under meat 肰. Its first meaning was “to burn”, now written 燃 (rán).

How to write 虽然

虽 9 strokes · 然 12 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

虽然 (suīrán) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 虽然 (suīrán). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 虽然

Words with 然

当然dāngrán · of course突然tūrán · sudden然后ránhòu · then自然zìrán · nature既然jìrán · since竟然jìngrán · unexpectedly然而rán'ér · however仍然réngrán · still必然bìrán · inevitable不然bùrán · otherwise

More words: Modal Verbs & Connectors

别bié · don’t可以kěyǐ · can可能kěnéng · maybe也yě · also因为yīnwèi · because所以suǒyǐ · so但是dànshì · but再zài · again

FAQs

虽然 (suīrán) means “although” or “even though (often used correlatively with 可是 or 但是 etc)”. It is an HSK 2 word, so it is one of the words learners meet early.
Say it suīrán: suī with a 1st tone, then rán with a 2nd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 虽然 is written 雖然. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type suiran with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 虽然 from the suggestions. Typing suiran into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
虽然 is an HSK 2 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.