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突如其来 (tū rú qí lái) — sudden and unexpected; to come out of nowhere

Definition

Describes something that happens suddenly and unexpectedly, with no warning. Unlike 措手不及, which describes the PERSON caught off guard, 突如其来 describes the EVENT itself.

phrase
sudden and unexpectedto come out of nowhere

Examples

  • 突如其来！
    Zhè zhēn shì yí gè tū rú qí lái de jīng xǐ!
    This is really a sudden surprise!
  • 突如其来，。
    Gǔ shì bào diē tū rú qí lái, ràng xǔ duō tóu zī zhě cuò shǒu bù jí.
    The stock market crash came out of nowhere, catching many investors off guard.
  • 突如其来。
    tū rú qí lái De yì qíng dǎ luàn le quán shì jiè de jié zòu.
    The sudden outbreak disrupted the rhythm of the whole world.

Origin

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

突 shows 犬 (dog) under 穴 (cave; den), as a dog suddenly coming out of a den.

Open 突 →

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
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
女
女nǚ如rú
Same sound today

如 is built from 口 (mouth) for its meaning and 女 (woman) for its sound.

Open 如 →

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

The modern form 其 comes from an early drawing of a basket, with a stand added underneath.

Open 其 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 來; 来 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 來 shows a wheat plant: a central ear, upward leaves, and downward stem and roots. The simplified 来 is a later shorthand.

Open 来 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Change & ProcessIdioms & Set Phrases

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