惊不惊喜，意不意外jīng bu jīng xǐ, yì bu yì wài

Surprised? Didn’t see that coming?

jīng bu jīng xǐ? yì bu yì wài?惊不惊喜？意不意外？Surprised? Didn’t see that coming?

惊不惊喜，意不意外 means “surprised? didn’t see that coming?”. You say it, with a smirk, after a twist, good or bad.

Took off: 2017
Started in: A 1992 comedy film
Today: Now everyday Chinese

What it means

惊喜 is “a pleasant surprise” and 意外 is “unexpected”. Each word is split around 不 to make a yes-or-no question, so the line teases more than it asks.

The surprise is often not pleasant. People use it for plot twists, sudden rain or a bill that is higher than you thought.

How people use it

It is common and still fresh enough for chat. The three-question form, with 刺不刺激 at the end, sounds even more teasing.

里昂

你到楼下了吗？
nǐ dào lóu xià le ma?
Are you downstairs yet?
到了，你在哪？
dào le, nǐ zài nǎ?
Yes. Where are you?
我还在家，刚起床。惊不惊喜，意不意外？
wǒ hái zài jiā, gāng qǐ chuáng. jīng bu jīng xǐ, yì bu yì wài?
I’m still at home. Just got up. Surprised?
一点都不惊喜！
yì diǎn dōu bù jīng xǐ!
Not a nice surprise at all!

More examples

你以为考完了？还有一门！惊不惊喜，意不意外？
nǐ yǐ wéi kǎo wán le? hái yǒu yì mén! jīng bu jīng xǐ, yì bu yì wài?
You thought the exams were over? There’s one more! Surprised?
我提前一天回来了，惊不惊喜？
wǒ tí qián yì tiān huí lái le, jīng bu jīng xǐ?
I came back a day early. Surprised?

Where it came from

Two 2017 articles trace it to 家有喜事 (All’s Well, Ends Well), a 1992 comedy film. According to one of them, the line in the film is 意不意外？开不开心？. Joke writers changed it later and added a third question, 刺不刺激, “thrilling or not”.

A list of the top ten internet phrases of 2017 included it.

The original. A scene from the 1992 film in which a character asks 意不意外？开不开心？. Hangzhou News showed a still in its list of the phrases of 2017. Hangzhou News (in Chinese)