HSK 5 · Function Words

显然 xiǎnrán “clearly” in Chinese

Traditional 顯然

What 显然 means

  1. clearly
  2. evidently
  3. obviously

How to say 显然

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale显xiǎn3rd tone, dipping
  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale然rán2nd tone, rising

显然 in a sentence

  1. 这显然是今年出版的最好的小说。

    Zhè xiǎnrán shì jīnnián chūbǎn de zuìhǎo de xiǎoshuō.

    This is clearly the best novel published this year.

    Sentence #333342 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 显然没有人有新的建议。

    Xiǎnrán méiyǒu rén yǒu xīn de jiànyì.

    Clearly, nobody has any new suggestions.

    Sentence #1565731 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 他显然喜欢散步。

    Tā xiǎnrán xǐhuan sànbù.

    He clearly enjoys going for walks.

    Sentence #1946007 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

How 显然 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 显 (xiǎn) with each of its parts in a different colour
显xiǎnto make visible
  • 日sun · rìMeaning part
  • 业business · yèSound part

日 hints at the meaning (sun); 业 (yè) hints at the sound. Compare it with xiǎn.

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 显然

显 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.

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

Words related to 显然

Words with 显

Words with 然

More words: Function Words & Grammar

FAQs

显然 (xiǎnrán) means “clearly” or “evidently”. It is an HSK 5 word.
Say it xiǎnrán: xiǎn with a 3rd 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, 显然 is written 顯然. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type xianran with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 显然 from the suggestions. Typing xianran into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
显然 is an HSK 5 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.