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料 (liào) — to expect, to anticipate (often in 料到, 没料到)

Definition

As a verb, 料 means 'to expect, to anticipate' — usually in 料到 or 没料到 to mean 'didn't expect'. This is a different word from the noun 料 ('material, animal feed'), which has the same spelling but a different meaning.

verb
to expectto anticipate (often in 料到, 没料到)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 。
    Wǒ méi liào dào tā huì lái.
    I didn't expect him to come.
  • ？
    Nǐ liào dào tā huì zhè me gāo xìng ma?
    Did you expect her to be so happy?
  • 。
    Dà jiā dōu liào dào zhè cì kǎo shì hěn nán.
    Everyone expected this exam to be difficult.

Origin

Compound ideograph
六书liùshū
会意huìyì

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.

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6Thinking & Cognition5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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