意料之外

yìliàozhīwài

phrase HSK 7

Meanings

1 beyond expectations
2 unexpected
3 unforeseen

Characters

thought; expectation

anticipate; predict

of (classical particle)

Literally 'outside of expectations' — unexpected

Examples

他的成功完全在意料之外。

Tā de chénggōng wánquán zài yìliàozhīwài.

His success was completely unexpected.

这个结果是意料之外的。

Zhège jiéguǒ shì yìliàozhīwài de.

This result was unforeseen.

Tips

usage

The opposite is 意料之中 (yìliàozhīzhōng — within expectations, as expected). Also compare with 出乎意料 (chūhū yìliào) which has the same meaning.

Stroke Order

意 yì

料 liào

之 zhī

外 wài