sure enough; as expected
HSK level
果然 is written with 20 strokes (果: 8, 然: 12). The animation replays automatically.
果然 (guǒrán) is an adverb meaning 'sure enough,' 'as expected,' or 'just as one predicted.'
It confirms that reality matched a prior expectation, guess, or warning — you thought it would rain, and 果然 it rained. It typically sits before the verb or at the head of the clause reporting the confirmed outcome. Two things differ from English 'as expected.' First, 果然 carries a small note of vindication or 'I knew it' — it is not neutral reporting but a speaker's satisfaction (or resignation) that the prediction came true.
Second, English 'sure enough' can feel casual and detached; 果然 more strongly links back to a specific earlier thought or claim. There is a rhetorical variant 果然不出所料 ('just as anticipated'). Register is neutral and common in both speech and writing.
Character by character
Memory hook: 果 (result) + 然 (so) = 'so it turned out' — the result came just as predicted.
我就说会下雨，果然下了。
Wǒ jiù shuō huì xiàyǔ, guǒrán xià le.
I said it would rain, and sure enough it did.
spoken
这家饭馆果然很好吃。
Zhè jiā fànguǎn guǒrán hěn hǎochī.
This restaurant really is as good as they say.
spoken
他果然是对的。
Tā guǒrán shì duì de.
He was right, just as expected.
neutral
果然不出我所料，他迟到了。
Guǒrán bù chū wǒ suǒ liào, tā chídào le.
Just as I predicted, he was late.
written
的确 means 'indeed / truly' — it emphasizes that something is genuinely the case, without linking to a prior prediction. 果然 specifically confirms an earlier expectation. Use 果然 when you called it in advance; use 的确 to simply stress the truth.
竟然 means 'unexpectedly / to one's surprise' — the opposite feeling. 果然 confirms what you predicted; 竟然 marks what surprised you. He passed, 果然 (as I knew) vs. he passed, 竟然 (I never expected it).
Acquire it by listening
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