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huǎng 恍 rán 然 dà 大 wù 悟

恍然大悟 huǎng rán dà wù

to suddenly realise; the penny drops

Literally: suddenly (suffix) greatly awaken

Intermediate 😊 Feelings & moods
🃏 Practise intermediate chengyu

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Origin

Descriptive; no single source story. Found in Song-dynasty Buddhist records describing a sudden awakening.

How to use it

Predicate; neutral. Often 听了他的话,我恍然大悟.

Example sentences

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  1. 听了老师的解释，我才恍然大悟。
    Tīng le lǎoshī de jiěshì, wǒ cái huǎng rán dà wù.
    Only after hearing the teacher's explanation did the penny drop.
    hear (particle) teacher (particle) explanation, I only-then suddenly (suffix) greatly awaken
  2. 看到照片的那一刻，他恍然大悟，原来两个人早就认识。
    Kàndào zhàopiàn de nà yī kè, tā huǎng rán dà wù, yuánlái liǎng gè rén zǎo jiù rènshi.
    The moment he saw the photo he suddenly realised the two had known each other all along.
    see photo (particle) that one moment, he suddenly (suffix) greatly awaken, turns-out two (measure) person early already know

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