不期而遇 (bù qī ér yù) — meet by chance; run into unexpectedly

Definition

Literary idiom meaning to meet someone by chance, without planning it — carries a warm, fated feeling. Pairs often with 老朋友 ('old friends') to emphasize the surprise.

idiom
meet by chancerun into unexpectedly

Examples

  • ，不期而遇。
    Wǒ men duō nián bú jiàn, méi xiǎng dào jīn tiān zài jiē shàng bù qī ér yù le.
    We hadn't seen each other for years — never thought we'd run into each other on the street today.
  • ，不期而遇，。
    Nà cì lǚ xíng zhōng, wǒ hé yí wèi lǎo péng you bù qī ér yù, zhēn shì jīng xǐ.
    On that trip, I ran into an old friend by chance — it was such a pleasant surprise.
  • 不期而遇，。
    Zhè liǎng běn shū de guān diǎn bù qī ér yù, dōu qiáng diào huán bǎo de zhòng yào xìng.
    The viewpoints of these two books coincide unexpectedly, both emphasizing the importance of environmental protection.

Origin

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
日日rì
Sound part声符shēngfú
其
其qí期qī
Same sound today

The original form paired 其 for its sound with 日 (sun). A related form changed that sun to 月, and this later developed into 期.

Open 期 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 而 is a picture of a beard.

Open 而 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辶Written in full as辵chuò
Sound part声符shēngfú
禺
禺yú遇yù
Same sound today

遇 combines 辶, a walking-related part, with 禺, which gives the sound. The 辶 part shows that the meaning involves walking or moving.

Open 遇 →

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