阴差阳错

陰差陽錯

yīnchā-yángcuò

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。

Yīnchā-yángcuò, 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 yīnchā-yángcuò 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。

Yīnchā-yángcuò 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