Chinese–EnglishWith examples

想不到

xiǎng bu dào · xiang bu dao

Same in simplified and traditional Chinese

HSK 6

Meaning

CC-CEDICT
  1. unexpected
  2. hard to imagine
  3. it had not occurred to me
  4. who could have thought that
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In a conversation

0:19 cartoon

Dumpling surprise

  1. Liangliang

    想不到(xiǎngbudào)你(nǐ)会(huì)做(zuò)饺子(jiǎozi)！

    I never thought you could make dumplings!

  2. Dengdeng

    我(wǒ)学了(xuéle)三个月(sāngèyuè)了(le)。

    I've been learning for three months.

  3. Liangliang

    真(zhēn)好吃(hǎochī)。想不到(xiǎngbudào)你(nǐ)做(zuò)得(de)这么(zhème)好(hǎo)。

    So tasty. I never expected you to cook so well.

  4. Dengdeng

    其实(qíshí)，我(wǒ)只(zhǐ)会(huì)做(zuò)这(zhè)一道(yīdào)菜(cài)。

    Actually, I can only make this one dish.

  5. Liangliang

    想不到(xiǎngbudào)三个月(sāngèyuè)只(zhǐ)学了(xuéle)一道菜(yīdàocài)！

    Who would have thought three months got you just one dish!

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In a sentence

2 examples
01

想(xiǎng)不(bu)到(dào)会(huì)在(zài)这(zhè)里(lǐ)遇(yù)见(jiàn)你(nǐ)！

Fancy meeting you here!

Tatoeba: Chinese by Martha · English by CK · CC BY 2.0 FR. Simplified Chinese conversion; Pinyin added or corrected.

02

真(zhēn)想(xiǎng)不(bu)到(dào)，他(tā)居(jū)然(rán)考(kǎo)了(le)第(dì)一(yī)名(míng)。

It's really unexpected that he actually got first place on the exam.

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Mainland China stroke order, including traditional characters. Drawing sources & licenses.

Definitions adapted from CC-CEDICT, published by MDBG and its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Pinyin display and entry grouping have been adapted.

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