出其不意

chūqíbùyì

idiom #15,920

Meanings

1 to do something when least expected
2 to catch someone off guard

Characters

to appear; to come out

expectation; intention

Examples

他出其不意地给了她一个惊喜。

Tā chūqíbùyì de gěi le tā yī gè jīngxǐ.

He caught her off guard with a surprise.

军队出其不意地发起了进攻。

Jūnduì chūqíbùyì de fāqǐ le jìngōng.

The army launched an unexpected attack.

Tips

history

From Sun Tzu's Art of War (孙子兵法): 攻其无备，出其不意 — attack where the enemy is unprepared, appear where you are not expected. One of the most quoted military maxims in Chinese.

grammar

Used as an adverbial modifier: 出其不意地 + verb. Can also function as a predicate: 这次行动完全是出其不意的.

Stroke Order

出 chū

其 qí

不 bù

意 yì