Differences between 突然, 忽然 and 猝然 ?

[HashiriKata]

Does anyone think there are some differences between 突然 and 忽然 (in meaning or usage) ? I often see them both translated as "suddenly".

PS: As if to make matter worse, I found another very similar word: 猝然 !

Cheers,

HK

[Jive Turkey]

They both generally mean suddenly, but as you have guessed, their usage is different.

忽然 emphasizes the quickness of something and can be used for things that people had wished or hoped for. I think it can also be used for things you don't want to happen, too.

The emphasis of 突然 seems to be that the action was sudden and unexpected. I think it is almost always used for something you don't wish for or want.

忽然 is generally an adverb: 他一聽到這個消息忽然就笑了.

突然 is generally used as an adjective: 這件事太突然了﹗

When speaking, I mix these two up all the time. They are close enough to each other that for someone of my level the difference in meaning is not so great that if I get it wrong the person listening to me will really be thrown off. I'm usually worried about making much bigger mistakes than this one.

[trevelyan]

When adverbs:

突然 -- suddenly

忽然 -- in a hurry

Jive Turkey is right about the 突然 also being a Stative Verb while 忽然 isn't.

[Bob Dylan Thomas]

i'm often surprised at the number of chinese words for "suddenly" - there's also 倏然 and 溘然 which i think are more 书面语。

[marcopolo79]

I used to be confused about this as well, but according to my understanding, 突然 is an adjective and a stative verb, while 忽然 functions solely as an adverb. These are the definitions of these two terms according to my little grammar bible, the HSK詞彙精解:

突然 (形)

情況在很短的時間發生內,使人沒有想到

例：事情太突然了,大家都沒有準備.

　　剛才還是晴天,怎麼突然就下起雨來？

忽然 (副）

表示事情發生得迅速,而且意外

例：我和媽媽正說得高興,突然聽見有人敲門.

剛才天還晴朗,可是一會兒的功夫忽然下起雨來.

I would say on the basis of these definitions and examples that the major distinction is that 突然 can never directly preceede a verb without a modifier such as 就 being placed in between while 忽然 can't be used without being directly attached to a verbal clause.

忽然 emphasizes the quickness of something and can be used for things that people had wished or hoped for. I think it can also be used for things you don't want to happen, too.

As far as I know, both of these terms can be used for neutral to negative unexpected events, for events that people might have desired that suddenly happened, 竟然 would probably be a better term.

[Quest]

To me they are synonyms, you can use them with ～间。

突然间，忽然间。

[HashiriKata]

Thank you all for responding. I'm much clearer now.

Based on what has been said, I've also found out that 突然 can also be used as an adverb, (in addtition to being an adjective): 他突然走了 (He suddenly left.)

Marcopolo79: the example you gave (我和媽媽正說得高興,突然聽見有人敲門) seems to contradict what you said about 突然. Is 突然 in this example a typo? It seems a fine example to me.

Cheers,

[xiaocai]

我觉得“猝然”应该是一个负性词汇，并且书面化而少有单独使用，一般用于词组的构成，如“猝然倒地”。

[marcopolo79]

arcopolo79: the example you gave (我和媽媽正說得高興,突然聽見有人敲門) seems to contradict what you said about 突然. Is 突然 in this example a typo? It seems a fine example to me.

oops, meant to write 忽然聽見有人敲門.

[CBC]

As a native speaker, I can hardly find any difference between 忽然 and 突然.Really don't worry about it. 猝然 is always connected with death, e.g. 猝然离世,猝然倒地(always as a result of heart attack)。

[DarkerBlue]

Marcopolo79: the example you gave (我和媽媽正說得高興,突然聽見有人敲門) seems to contradict what you said about 突然. Is 突然 in this example a typo? It seems a fine example to me.

It's not a typo. Something like 就 is not necessory for 突然。

very colloquial:一下子，猛地

colloquial:忽然，突然

formal and written:骤然，猝然，溘然，倏然 (U need not be surprised if u find a Chinese college student feel at a loss at the last two.)

[mandel1luke]

忽然 suddenly

突然 suddenly + abruptly, with a degree of possible shock

猝然 even more sudden and unexpected, for unfortunate events

----> degree

车忽然飞过来 - quite surprised!

车突然飞过来 - you're slapping your chest in fright

车猝然飞过来 - just happy to be alive!