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阴错阳差

陰錯陽差
yīncuò-yángchā
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 due to an unexpected turn of events
  2. 2 by a strange coincidence
  3. 3 through a series of mishaps

Examples

HSK 4
阴错阳差地，这份合同被寄错了地址。
Yīncuò-yángchā de, zhè fèn hétóng bèi jì cuò le dìzhǐ.
Through a series of mishaps, the contract got mailed to the wrong address.
HSK 5
阴错阳差，我居然在巴黎遇见了他。
Yīncuò-yángchā, wǒ jūrán zài Bālí yùjiàn le tā.
By some strange coincidence, I actually ran into him in Paris.

Tips

history
Recorded in the Ming-dynasty work 蠡海集 by 王逵: the term originally came from astrology. The 60-year sexagenary cycle was divided into yang stems and yin stems, and when calculations slipped between the two you had 阴错阳差, yin-yang astronomical errors. The cosmic mismatch became a metaphor for everyday flukes.
usage
Use for outcomes that feel like fate playing tricks, both lucky coincidences (meeting a future spouse) and unfortunate ones (paperwork going to the wrong place). Often used adverbially with 地 before a verb.

Stroke Order

阴 yīn
错 cuò
阳 yáng
差 chà