…是出了名的
is well known for; is notorious for; everybody knows that…
Structure
某人／某地的 特点 是出了名的 · 主语 是出了名的 名词短语
What it means
Says a trait is common knowledge, often to people’s cost: “is well known for, notorious for”. Mostly used of faults, though it can praise too.
How it is built
Trait + 是出了名的: 教练脾气大是出了名的 (Driving instructors are famous for their tempers). Or 是出了名的 + noun phrase that labels the person: 他是出了名的急性子.
When to use it
Spoken and lively, at home in features that talk to the reader. Compare 以…著称／闻名 (lesson 3-14), written, formal and admiring, with the feature after 以: 昆明以四季如春著称.
Watch out
Keep the 了: 出名的 alone before a noun just means “famous” (出名的作家, a famous writer), without the sense “everybody knows it”.
Examples
教练脾气大是出了名的。
Driving instructors are famous for their tempers.
北京早高峰堵车是出了名的，开车上班往往还不如坐地铁快。
Beijing’s morning rush-hour jams are notorious: driving to work is often slower than taking the underground.
张教练是出了名的“铁面教练”，学员一出错就当场指出来。
Coach Zhang is well known as an instructor who shows no mercy: the moment a learner slips up, he points it out on the spot.
Learn this in Lesson 141 · HSK 7–9: 考驾照，抢车牌 (Driving tests and number plates)
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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