意想不到

yìxiǎngbúdào

adjective HSK 7-9 #9,016

Meanings

Thoughts cannot reach it - completely beyond imagination.

HSK 4

他取得了意想不到的成功。

Tā qǔdé le yìxiǎngbúdào de chénggōng.

He achieved unexpected success.

HSK 6

旅途中发生了很多意想不到的事。

Lǚtú zhōng fāshēng le hěnduō yìxiǎngbúdào de shì.

Many unexpected things happened during the trip.

HSK 7-9

结果出乎意想不到。

Jiéguǒ chūhū yìxiǎngbúdào.

The result was completely unexpected.

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