"Unexpected" • Chinese-English Dictionary
| 突然 | tū rán | sudden / abrupt / unexpected |   |
| 意外 | yì wài | unexpected / accident / mishap / CL:個|个[ge4] | |
| 想不到 | xiǎng bu dào | unexpected / hard to imagine / it had not occurred to me / who could have thought that | |
| 意想不到 | yì xiǎng bù dào | unexpected / previously unimagined | |
| 出人意料 | chū rén yì liào | unexpected (idiom) / surprising | |
| 出乎意料 | chū hū yì liào | beyond expectation (idiom) / unexpected | |
| 意料之外 | yì liào zhī wài | contrary to expectation / unexpected | |
| 惊爆 | jīng bào | unexpected / staggering (news etc) | |
| 不测 | bù cè | unexpected / measureless / unexpected circumstance / contingency / mishap | |
| 不虞 | bù yú | unexpected / eventuality / contingency / not worry about | |
| 横 |  hèng | harsh and unreasonable / unexpected | |
| 骤 | zhòu | sudden / unexpected / abrupt / suddenly / Taiwan pr. [zou4] | |
| 出乎预料 | chū hū yù liào | beyond expectation (idiom) / unexpected | |
| 出人意外 | chū rén yì wài | turned out other than expected (idiom) / unexpected | |
| 不速 | bù sù | uninvited (guest) / unexpected (appearance) / unwanted presence | |
| 出乎意外 | chū hū yì wài | beyond expectation (idiom) / unexpected | |
| 未料 | wèi liào | to not anticipate / to not expect / unanticipated / unexpected | |
| 不期而至 | bù qī ér zhì | to arrive unexpectably / unexpected | |
| 黑马 | hēi mǎ | dark horse / fig. unexpected winner | |
| 绝招 | jué zhāo | unique skill / unexpected tricky move (as a last resort) / masterstroke / finishing blow | |
| 乌龙 | wū lóng | black dragon / unexpected mistake or mishap / own goal (soccer) / oolong (tea) / (Tw) (loanword from Japanese) udon | |
| 不速之客 | bù sù zhī kè | uninvited or unexpected guest | |
| 起死回生 | qǐ sǐ huí shēng | to rise from the dead (idiom) / fig. an unexpected recovery | |
| 见怪不怪 | jiàn guài bù guài | to keep one's calm in the face of the unexpected / not to wonder at strange sights | |
| 爆冷 | bào lěng | an upset (esp. in sports) / unexpected turn of events / to pull off a coup / a breakthrough | |
| 大喜过望 | dà xǐ guò wàng | overjoyed at unexpected good news (idiom) | |
| 三长两短 | sān cháng liǎng duǎn | unexpected misfortune / unexpected accident / sudden death | |
| 绝处逢生 | jué chǔ féng shēng | to come back from death's door (idiom) / unexpected rescue from danger / fig. to recover from a seemingly impossible situation / to find a way out of a predicament | |
| 横祸 | hèng huò | unexpected calamity | |
| 飞来横祸 | fēi lái hèng huò | sudden and unexpected disaster (idiom) | |
| 爆冷门 | bào lěng mén | an upset (esp. in sports) / unexpected turn of events / to pull off a coup / a breakthrough | |
| 以防万一 | yǐ fáng wàn yī | to guard against the unexpected (idiom) / just in case / prepared for any eventualities | |
| 天有不测风云 | tiān yǒu bù cè fēng yún | fortune as unpredictable as the weather (idiom) / sth unexpected may happen at any moment | |
| 阴差阳错 | yīn chā yáng cuò | (idiom) due to an unexpected turn of events | |
| 喜从天降 | xǐ cóng tiān jiàng | joy from heaven (idiom) / overjoyed at unexpected good news / unlooked-for happy event | |
| 阴错阳差 | yīn cuò yáng chā | (idiom) due to an unexpected turn of events | |
| 不速而至 | bù sù ér zhì | to arrive without invitation / unexpected guest / unwanted presence | |
| 剑走偏锋 | jiàn zǒu piān fēng | the sword moves with side stroke (modern idiom) / fig. unexpected winning move / unconventional gambit | |
| 剑走蜻蛉 | jiàn zǒu qīng líng | the sword moves like a dragon-fly (modern idiom) / fig. unexpected winning move / unconventional gambit | |
| 天有不测风云，人有旦夕祸福 | tiān yǒu bù cè fēng yún , rén yǒu dàn xī huò fú | fortune as unpredictable as the weather, every day may bring fortune or calamity (idiom) / sth unexpected may happen at any moment | |
| 奇彩 | qí cǎi | unexpected splendour | |
| 奇祸 | qí huò | unexpected calamity / sudden disaster | |
| 迂回奔袭 | yū huí bēn xí | to attack from an unexpected direction | |
| 无心插柳柳成阴 | wú xīn chā liǔ liǔ chéng yīn | lit. idly poke a stick in the mud and it grows into a tree to shade you / (fig.) unintentional actions may bring unexpected success / also written 無心插柳柳成蔭|无心插柳柳成荫 | |
| 阴沟里翻船 | yīn gōu lǐ fān chuán | to meet with unexpected failure (idiom) / to fail miserably (where failure was not expected) | |
| 变化球 | biàn huà qiú | (baseball) breaking ball / (fig.) curveball / unexpected turn of events | |
