偶尔(ǒu’ěr) vs 偶然(ǒurán)

偶尔(ǒu’ěr) vs 偶然(ǒurán)

偶尔

As an adverb, 偶尔 is often used to express low frequency. Its antonym is “经常”.

偶尔 + Verb

e.g.

我喜欢吃蔬菜，偶尔才吃肉。(Wǒ xǐhuān chī shūcài, ǒu’ěr cái chī ròu.) I like to eat vegetables and I eat meat only occasionally.

我们一般走路上班，偶尔开车。(Wǒmen yībān zǒulù shàngbān, ǒu’ěr kāichē.) We usually walk to work and occasionally drive.

虽然她搬走了，但是我们还是会偶尔见面聊天。(Suīrán tā bān zǒule, dànshì wǒmen háishì huì ǒu’ěr jiànmiàn liáotiān.) Although she moved away, we still meet occasionally to chat.

偶尔 + Verb + the number of time

e.g.

那个男人偶尔来这里游一两次泳，我们都不认识他。(Nàgè nánrén ǒu’ěr lái zhèlǐ yóu yī liǎng cì yǒng, wǒmen dōu bù rènshi tā.) That man comes here occasionally to swim once or twice, and we don’t even know him.

现在的年轻人几乎不用笔写字了，偶尔才写几个。(Xiànzài de niánqīng rén jīhū bùyòng bǐ xiězì le, ǒu’ěr cái xiě jǐ gè.) Young people nowadays hardly write with a pen, and only write a few occasionally.

偶然

As an adverb

偶然 is used to express unexpectedness. Its antonym is “必然”.

Note that the verb cannot be monosyllabic.

e.g.

打扫卫生的时候，我偶然发现了他的日记本。(Dǎsǎo wèishēng de shíhòu, wǒ ǒurán fāxiànle tā de rìjì běn.) While cleaning, I stumbled upon his diary.

我在去学校的路上偶然遇到了一个有趣的老奶奶。(Wǒ zài qù xuéxiào de lùshàng ǒurán yù dàole yīgè yǒuqù de lǎonǎinai.) I ran into an interesting grandma by chance on the way to school.

这首歌是我在咖啡店里偶然听到的。(Zhè shǒu gē shì wǒ zài kāfēi diàn lǐ ǒurán tīng dào de.) I heard this song by accident in a coffee shop.

 

As an adjective

偶然 can be modified by an adverb. It can also function as the attribute and the predicate of a sentence, while 偶尔 cannot.

Degree Adverb + 偶然 + Noun

e.g.

因为一次偶然的机会，我们认识了。(Yīn wèi yīcì ǒurán de jīhuì, wǒmen rènshi le.) Because of a chance, we met.

那只是一个偶然的事故，不会经常发生。(Nà zhǐshì yīgè ǒurán de shìgù, bù huì jīngcháng fāshēng.) It’s just an accident, and it doesn’t happen very often.

As a predicate：

Degree Adverb + 偶然

e.g.

这件事非常偶然。(Zhè jiàn shì fēicháng ǒurán.) This incident is very accidental.

在这儿见到你太偶然了。(Zài zhèr jiàn dào nǐ tài ǒurán le.) It’s so accidental to see you here.

Something + 并不偶然

e.g.

这件事并不偶然。(Zhè jiàn shì bìng bù ǒurán.) This incident is not accidental.

他们分手并不偶然。他们已经吵架很多次了。(Tāmen fēnshǒu bìng bù ǒurán. Tāmen yǐjīng chǎojià hěnduō cìle.) They broke up not accidentally. They have quarreled many times.

Something + （不）是偶然的

e.g.

他们的离婚不是偶然的，两个人性格太不同了。(Tāmen de líhūn bùshì ǒurán de, liǎng gèrén xìnggé tài bùtóng le.) Their divorce was not accidental, and the two people’s personalities were too different.

所有的成功都不是偶然的，那都是努力的结果。(Suǒyǒu de chénggōng dōu bùshì ǒurán de, nà dōu shì nǔlì de jiéguǒ.) All success is not accidental. It is the result of hard work.