How to use 果然
Subject + 果然 + predicate; expectation，果然 + confirming statement
果然 presents a result as confirming an expectation. That expectation may come from the speaker's prediction, another person's claim, or earlier evidence in the conversation. The new fact is therefore not merely reported; it is evaluated as matching what someone anticipated. English may use sure enough, as expected, or an emphatic statement that the prediction was right.
Place 果然 before the predicate or use it to introduce a confirming clause. State the earlier prediction when the connection would otherwise be unclear. The confirmed result can be disappointing as well as welcome, so 果然 does not itself express approval. Contrast it with expressions of surprise that present the outcome as going against what was expected.
Examples with pinyin and English
天气预报说会下雨，下午果然下雨了。
The forecast said it would rain, and sure enough it rained in the afternoon.
果然 introduces confirmation of an explicit prediction.
大家都推荐这本书，果然很有意思。
Everyone recommended this book, and it really is interesting.
The judgment confirms expectations created by recommendations.
我猜你会选蓝色，你果然选了蓝色。
I guessed you would choose blue, and you did.
The observed choice matches the earlier guess.
What to remember
- Make the expectation recoverable from context.
- Use 果然 with the fact that confirms it.
- Do not assume the confirmed result is favorable.
Practise the pattern
Use one example as a model. Change the people, objects or situation, keeping the grammar pattern in the same order. Read the explanation again to check how your sentence uses the construction.
Look up the grammar words
Source and editorial notes
Explanation and examples written for Laowai using the grammar curriculum as a topic reference. The original curriculum credits AllSet Learning’s Chinese Grammar Wiki as used with permission. Read the retained source credits.
Difficulty labels describe the level of the explanation; they are not official HSK placement. Send a correction with this page’s URL.