意料 yìliào to anticipate
to anticipate; to expect; expectations
How to remember 意料: 意 idea + 料 ingredients = to anticipate.
Characters
How it is used
- To anticipate/expect, mostly locked into fixed phrases - 出乎意料 (chūhū yìliào) contrary to expectation; 意料之中 (yìliào zhī zhōng) just as expected.
- Rarely stands alone as a plain verb; you meet it inside these frames rather than saying '我意料…'.
- Contrast 意料之外 (yìliào zhī wài, beyond expectation) with 意料之中 - the standard expected/unexpected pair.
Example sentences
- 这出乎意料地容易。 Zhè chūhūyìliào de róngyì.It was amazingly easy.
- 让我出乎意料的是，他居然很会唱歌。 Ràng wǒ chūhūyìliào de shì, tā jūrán hěnhuì chànggē.To my surprise, he was good at singing.