0

大約過了五分鐘，水柱嘎然停止。

What does 嘎然 mean?

I know the sentence says after five minutes, the water sprout immediately stopped.

The word 嘎 means a sudden and loud sound. I don't understand what 然 means here. Does 嘎然停止 mean it stopped loudly? Thanks for the help.

Improve this question

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
1

嘎然 is a non-standard spelling of 戛然. 戛然停止 means suddenly stop.

然 is an adjective suffix in classical Chinese, analogous to 地 in modern Chinese. 戛, as you mentioned, was originally "a sudden loud cry (of a bird, etc.)." However in Ming dynasty it gained the sense of "suddenly" without the part of "a loud sound." There might be an influence from 恝然. Compare:

《警世通言》: 雖然離別是苦事，那漢子千里相隨，恝然而去，也是個薄情的。

《玉嬌梨》: 高賢幸遇，何忍戛然就去，況天色日暮，如何去得！

Improve this answer
4
  • So 戛地停止 would have the same sense of meaning as using 然? Thanks.
    – ronald christenkkson
    Commented Jan 29 at 18:38
  • No, 戛然而止 is a chengyu. Do not replace 然 with 地.
    – user2249675
    Commented Jan 29 at 18:39
  • So 然 just modifies 戛 with 停止? Like "suddenly-然-stopped" and doesn't have a meaning by itself? Sorry I'm very confused on this point and have little understanding.
    – ronald christenkkson
    Commented Jan 29 at 18:47
  • 1
    Not quite. In Qing dynasty texts 戛然 means "suddenly" and could be followed by a number of verbs, as you can see in the quote (戛然就去). Gradually, it came to be only used in the idiomatic phrase 戛然而止 (or 戛然停止 in your text), meaning suddenly stop. 然 is a "grammatical particle" (助词) that has no independent meaning.
    – user2249675
    Commented Jan 29 at 18:51

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.