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意料之外

Mandarin · pinyin yì liào zhī wài

(idiom) contrary to expectation; unexpected

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Characters in this entry

意: yì · thought, idea, opinion; think
料: liào · consider, conjecture; materials, ingredients
之: zhī · marks preceding phrase as modifier of following phrase; it, him her, them; go to
外: wài · out, outside, external; foreign

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–4–1–4 · yi4 liao4 zhi1 wai4

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Compare dictionary sources 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ji3 liu6 zi1 ngoi6

Cantonese word readings for 意料之外. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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