出人意料 (chū rén yì liào) — unexpected, surprising

Definition

A formal, written phrase meaning 'unexpected / surprising', describing something that goes beyond what people predicted. Stronger and more literary than 突然, and more neutral than 喜出望外 (which implies delighted surprise).

phrase
unexpectedsurprising

Examples

  • 出人意料
    Zhè ge jié guǒ zhēn shì chū rén yì liào.
    This result is really unexpected.
  • 出人意料
    Tā chū rén yì liào dì jù jué le nà fèn gōng zuò.
    He unexpectedly turned down that job.
  • 出人意料
    Shuí yě méi xiǎng dào, zhè cì bǐ sài chū rén yì liào dì yíng le.
    No one expected that we would unexpectedly win this competition.

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