偶然 ǒurán incidentally
incidentally; occasional; occasionally; by chance; randomly
How to remember 偶然: 偶 accidentally + 然 however = incidentally.
Characters
How it is used
- By chance / occasional - 偶然的机会 (ǒurán de jīhuì) a chance opportunity; 偶然遇到 (ǒurán yùdào) to run into by chance.
- Both adverb and adjective, stressing something unplanned or accidental.
- Contrast 偶尔 (ǒu'ěr, once in a while, about frequency) - 偶然 stresses chance/randomness, 偶尔 stresses infrequency; and its antonym is 必然 (bìrán, inevitable), 必然的结果 (bìrán de jiéguǒ) an inevitable result.
Example sentences
- 我偶然找到了它。 Wǒ ǒurán zhǎodào le tā.I found it by chance.
- 我偶然发现了那家餐馆。 Wǒ ǒurán fāxiàn le nàjiā cānguǎn.I found that restaurant by accident.
- 我们偶然乘上了同一辆列车。 Wǒmen ǒurán chéngshàng le tóng yīliàng lièchē.We happened to be on the same train.