Definition
出人意料 (chū rén yì liào) is a formal idiom meaning 'unexpected, beyond what one expected' – it emphasizes that the outcome defies any reasonable prediction. It is more literary than 意想不到 (yì xiǎng-bú dào) and does not carry the 'accident' sense of 意外 (yì wài) or the 'joy' of 喜出望外 (xǐ chū wàng wài).
phrase
unexpectedsurprising
Examples
- 出人意料。Zhège jiéguǒ zhēn shì chū rén yì liào.This result is really unexpected.
- 出人意料。Tā chū rén yì liào de jùjué le nà fèn gōngzuò.He unexpectedly turned down that job.
- ，出人意料。Shéi yě méi xiǎngdào, zhè cì bǐsài chū rén yì liào de yíng le.No one expected that we would unexpectedly win this competition.
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