阴差阳错

陰差陽錯

yīnchāyángcuò

idiom #43,329

Meanings

1 due to an unexpected turn of events
2 by a strange coincidence
3 by some odd twist of fate

Characters

yin; shaded; negative

difference; mistake

yang; sunny; positive

Examples

阴差阳错，他们竟然在机场再次相遇。

Yīnchāyángcuò, tāmen jìngrán zài jīchǎng zàicì xiāngyù.

By some odd twist of fate, they ended up meeting again at the airport.

这件事完全是阴差阳错造成的，谁也没想到。

Zhè jiàn shì wánquán shì yīnchāyángcuò zàochéng de, shéi yě méi xiǎngdào.

This whole situation came about purely by coincidence; no one saw it coming.

阴差阳错之下，他错过了那班飞机，反而救了一命。

Yīnchāyángcuò zhī xià, tā cuòguò le nà bān fēijī, fǎn'ér jiù le yī mìng.

Through a strange twist of fate, he missed that flight and ended up saving his life.

Tips

usage

Used for outcomes produced by a chain of small accidents — neither fortunate nor unfortunate per se, just unexpectedly tangled. Often appears as an adverbial 阴差阳错地.

Stroke Order

阴 yīn

差 chà

阳 yáng

错 cuò