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出乎意料

chū hū yì liào

contrary to expectation

Character by character

出chū
go out
乎hū
from
意yì
thought
料liào
expectation

Example

比赛的结果出乎意料。
The result of the match was unexpected.

Tone: neutral.

Usage and origin

Also 出人意料; often 出乎…的意料.

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