意想不到

yìxiǎngbùdào

adjective HSK 6 #9,016

Meanings

Thoughts cannot reach it - completely beyond imagination.

HSK 3

他取得了意想不到的成功。

Tā qǔdé le yìxiǎngbùdào de chénggōng.

He achieved unexpected success.

HSK 7-9

结果出乎意想不到。

Jiéguǒ chūhū yìxiǎngbùdào.

The result was completely unexpected.

HSK 7-9

旅途中发生了很多意想不到的事。

Lǚtú zhōng fāshēng le hěnduō yìxiǎngbùdào de shì.

Many unexpected things happened during the trip.

usage

意想不到 is more emphatic than 想不到. It's a four-character expression (closer to chengyu style) and sounds more literary.

意 yì

想 xiǎng

不 bù

到 dào