📖 Meaning
Completely different from what is ordinary or usual. It describes a situation, behavior, or feeling that stands out markedly from the norm. Often used to emphasize how unusual or exceptional something is.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom comes from modern Chinese literature, specifically from the writer Ru Zhijuan's essay 'On the Socialist Track.' The author describes boarding a train with an extraordinarily tense and vivid feeling, as though the rhythmic pace of life had tightened every 'screw' in her body. The phrase combines '异' (different), '乎' (a preposition meaning 'from'), and '寻常' (ordinary), forming an expression that highlights something that deviates significantly from the commonplace.
💡 Example Usage
今天她的表现异乎寻常，平时总是嘻嘻哈哈，现在却一句话也不说。
Her behavior today was quite unusual—normally always laughing and joking, she now didn't say a single word.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 异乎寻常
- Pinyin: yì hū xún cháng
- Literal Translation: different, from, ordinary, usual
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4