Chinese word

意料之外

Pronunciation

Pinyinyì liào zhī wài

Meaning

  • adjectiveunexpected

Example

这件事完全在我意料之外。zhè jiàn shì wán quán zài wǒ yì liào zhī wài

This was completely beyond my expectations.

Illustration for 意料之外 (unexpected)

More examples

这是一个意料之外的转折。zhè shì yí gè yì liào zhī wài de zhuǎn zhé

This is an unexpected turn.

Core concept

A result falls beyond the boundary of what someone expected.

Common phrases

  • 出乎意料之外chū hū yì liào zhī wài

    be beyond expectations

  • 让人感到意料之外ràng rén gǎn dào yì liào zhī wài

    take someone by surprise

  • 意料之外的举动yì liào zhī wài de jǔ dòng

    unexpected action

Similar words

意外yì wài: Unexpected in a way that causes surprise, with either a pleasant or unpleasant result.
意想不到yì xiǎng bú dào: Not anticipated or imagined before an event happens, and therefore surprising.
出乎意料chū hū yì liào: Outside the expected range in a way that surprises people.

Definition in Chinese

超出预期范围的事或情况，表示出人意料或令人惊讶的结果。chāo chū yù qī fàn wéi de shì huò qíng kuàng biǎo shì chū rén yì liào huò lìng rén jīng yà de jié guǒ

Word origin

意料之外 (yìliàozhīwài, "outside expectation") combines 意料 (yìliào, "expectation") with 之外 (zhīwài, "outside or beyond") to describe something beyond what was expected.

Usage tips

  • The expression can describe either a pleasant or an unpleasant result, because it marks a broken expectation rather than a bad outcome.

Other meanings

  • surprisingadjective
  • unforeseenadjective

Opposites

  • 意料之中yì liào zhī zhōngexpectedadjective

Related words

Word lists with this word