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意料 (yì liào) — to anticipate, to expect

Definition

意料 emphasizes being 'within the bounds of what one expected' (often in 出乎意料 'beyond expectation'). 预期 is more about a planned target or forecast.

verb
to anticipateto expect

Examples

  • 意料。
    Wǒ wán quán méi yì liào dào tā huì jù jué.
    I completely didn't expect him to refuse.
  • 意料？
    Nǐ yì liào dào zhè cì kǎo shì zhè me nán ma?
    Did you expect this exam to be so difficult?
  • 。
    Méi yǒu rén yì liào dào shì qing huì fā zhǎn chéng zhè yàng.
    No one anticipated that things would develop like this.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

意yìexpect
料liàoestimate

Both 意 and 料 carry the sense of expecting, giving the meaning to anticipate.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 意 →

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

料 combines 米 (rice) with 斗 (a dipper), showing rice being measured or gauged.

Open 料 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Thinking & Cognition

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