急に（きゅうに、kyuuni）
- suddenly

The Japanese word 急に, read as きゅうに, means "suddenly," "abruptly," or "all of a sudden." It describes an action or event that happens unexpectedly and without warning. It implies a change or occurrence that is rapid and unforeseen. The word can apply to various situations, from physical actions to changes in emotions or circumstances. 急に is an adverb, modifying verbs or adjectives.

⚫︎急に雨が降り出した。 Translation: It started raining suddenly. ⚫︎友達が急に泣き出した。 Translation: My friend suddenly started crying. ⚫︎急に寒くなりましたね。 Translation: It got cold suddenly, didn't it?

⚫︎急に is used when something happens unexpectedly, with little or no prior notice. ⚫︎It emphasizes the suddenness and lack of preparation involved in the event. ⚫︎Use it to describe the timing of an event or the manner in which something occurs. ⚫︎It's common in both spoken and written Japanese. ⚫︎It often describes a change in state or the initiation of an action.

⚫︎急に is typically written in hiragana as きゅうに. ⚫︎The kanji form is 急に. ⚫︎The kanji 急 means "urgent" or "sudden." ⚫︎The okurigana (hiragana attached to the kanji) is に. ⚫︎There are no other common ways to write this word.

⚫︎突然（とつぜん） - "suddenly," "abruptly" (a more formal and stronger synonym) ⚫︎出し抜けに（だしぬけに）- "unexpectedly," "out of the blue" ⚫︎いきなり - "suddenly," "all of a sudden" (more casual than 急に, often used in spoken Japanese)

⚫︎ゆっくり - "slowly," "leisurely" ⚫︎徐々に（じょじょに） - "gradually," "little by little"

映画を見ている途中で、停電が急に起こった。 ・Translation: The power went out suddenly while we were watching the movie. ・Explanation: This sentence describes an unexpected event (the power outage) that happened abruptly.

犬が急に吠え始めたので、びっくりした。 ・Translation: I was surprised because the dog suddenly started barking. ・Explanation: The sentence highlights the surprise caused by the dog's unexpected barking.

⚫︎急に comes from the adjective 急（きゅう） meaning "urgent," "rapid," or "sudden," combined with the particle に. ⚫︎The combination creates an adverb, modifying verbs to express the suddenness or rapidity of an action.