📖 Meaning
Something that occurs beyond one's expectations or anticipation. It describes an outcome or event that surprises people because it was not foreseen. The phrase emphasizes the unexpectedness of a situation.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom appears in the short story 'Regret for the Past' (伤逝), written by the celebrated modern Chinese writer Lu Xun in 1925 and included in his collection 'Wandering' (彷徨). In the story, the narrator Juansheng reflects on his troubled relationship with his lover Zijun, imagining that even if he left their shared home, she might one day unexpectedly come to visit him, just as she did when she lived at the guild hall. The phrase literally means 'beyond the surface of one's expectations' and has come to denote anything that happens contrary to what was anticipated.
💡 Example Usage
这部电影的结局出乎意表，令观众赞叹不已。
The ending of this movie was completely unexpected, leaving the audience full of admiration.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 出乎意表
- Pinyin: chū hū yì biǎo
- Literal Translation: out, beyond, expectation, outside
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4