……，没想到……
unexpectedly; who would have thought
Structure
情况／预期 ， （谁也／真）没想到 意外的结果
What it means
“Unexpectedly; who would have thought”: the first clause sets up what was expected, and 没想到 brings in what actually happened.
How it is built
Situation or expectation ， (谁也／真／万万) 没想到 + surprising result: 我本来只想看一眼，没想到一排队就是三个钟头 (I only meant to have a look, but the queue alone took three hours).
When to use it
Common in speech and writing. The surprised person is usually left out (the speaker, or everyone); to name them say 我没想到…. 谁也没想到 and 万万没想到 are stronger. Written equivalents: 不料, 谁知.
Watch out
Only for a real surprise. ✗ 他很努力，没想到考上了 (when success was expected) ✓ 他很努力，终于考上了. Use 没想到 only if the result truly surprised you.
Examples
画里的汴京一片太平，谁也没想到，1127年金兵攻破了这座城市。
The Bianjing of the painting is at peace; nobody could have imagined that in 1127 the Jin army would take the city.
我本来只想进去看一眼，没想到一排队就是三个钟头。
I only meant to pop in for a look, and who’d have thought the queue alone would take three hours?
他平时话不多，没想到一讲起古画来就停不下来。
He doesn’t usually say much, but once he got going on old paintings, to everyone’s surprise, he couldn’t stop.
Learn this in Lesson 93 · HSK 6–7: 两幅北宋长卷 (Two Northern Song scrolls)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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