果然grammar point · tier 1 · 果然 (sure enough; just as expected)
· guǒrán
Marks an outcome that arrives exactly as foreseen; the speaker predicted or suspected it, and the event confirms the prediction.
字源 FORM what the parts do
果 is a round fruit drawn atop a tree (木) — what the whole season ripens toward, sure as fruit. 然 lends its '-ly / the look of it' suffix (顯然, 忽然): the manner the thing turns out in. Together: the way a ripe outcome turns out, just as the tree promised.
故事 STORY a scene to remember it by
A green fruit watched from the branch all season, and on the day it should redden, it reddens.
You called it, and the result came in exactly that way — confirm the foresight.
序 · The move
1Set up the prediction or suspicion first, in an earlier clause.Is there a forecast for 果然 to confirm? Without one it has nothing to land on.
2Place 果然 before the outcome clause (after the subject, before the verb).Does the outcome match the prediction? 果然 confirms; it never reports a surprise.
3State the outcome plainly.Could a listener swap in 'sure enough'? If the result is unexpected, reach for 竟然/居然 instead.
例 · Examples
1爸爸忘了forgot戴帽子wear a hat出門go out，回來果然sure enough; as expected曬傷get sunburned了。
Dad went out forgetting his hat, and sure enough, he came back sunburned.
結果 is 'as a result / in the end,' a neutral connector reporting any outcome. 果然 adds the claim that the outcome was foreseen.
✗ 我以為他會贏，他果然輸了。 → ✓ 我以為他會贏，他竟然輸了。 (the outcome contradicts the expectation, so it is a surprise, not a confirmation)
✗ 果然他來了嗎？ → ✓ 他果然來了。 (果然 confirms a statement; it does not sit in a yes-no question)
✗ 天氣預報說會下雨，果然。 → ✓ 天氣預報說會下雨，果然下雨了。 (果然 leads into the confirming clause; it cannot stand alone)
English 'sure enough' floats freely at a clause edge; 果然 sits inside the outcome clause, after the subject and before the verb. It also carries no surprise — using it where English would say 'surprisingly' inverts the meaning.