► 副詞
意外 [いがい] meaning: unexpected rank: 1
☆ 修理代は意外と安かった ⇨ The repair cost was unexpectedly low
☆ 意外にも彼の商売は成功した ⇨ His business has succeeded unexpectedly
突然 [とつぜん] meaning: unexpected rank: 1
☆ それは全く突然の出来事だった ⇨ That was a completely unexpected, out-of-the blue, incident (☛ Sudden and unexpected)
まさか [(1)まさか] [coll] meaning: unexpected rank: 1
☆ あいつがどんなバカでもまさかそんなことはしないだろう ⇨ I don’t think he would do it even if he is really stupid
☆ まさかこんな事になるとは思わなかった ⇨ I never thought things would turn out this way
☆ まさか冗談でしょう？ ⇨ You must be joking, right?
☆ まさか彼が本気だとは思わなかった ⇨ I never thought he was really serious
案外 [あんがい] meaning: unexpected rank: 2
☆ この料理は案外簡単に作れる ⇨ You can cook this dish unexpectedly easily
どっこい [(3)どっこい] [coll] meaning: unexpected rank: 3
☆ 平日なら空いているだろうと思いきやどっこい大混雑だった ⇨ I thought it’d be empty on a weekday, but on the contrary it was very crowded
☆ 簡単に負かせる相手と思っていたらところがどっこい手強かった ⇨ I thought he was an easy opponent to beat, but he was a tough out unexpectedly
何気に [なにげに] [coll] [peer] meaning: unexpected rank: 3
☆ 彼は何気にすごい ⇨ He is unexpectedly, sneaky, awesome (☛ A newer usage)
ばったり [(3)ばったり] meaning: unexpected rank: 3
☆ 古い友達にばったり会った ⇨ I unexpectedly ran into an old friend
よもや [(1)よもや] [liter] meaning: unexpected rank: 4
☆ 当時多くの米国人は日本が攻撃してくることはよもやあるまいと考えていた ⇨ Most Americans then believed it was highly unlikely that Japan would attack them
☆ 彼等は格下の相手によもやの敗戦を喫した ⇨ They suffered an unexpected loss to an underdog
► 成句
思い [(2)おもい] [思いもしない] meaning: unexpected rank: 2
☆ こんな事になるとは思いもしなかった ⇨ I never thought things would turn out this way
思い [(2)おもい] [思いも寄らない] meaning: unexpected rank: 2
☆ こんな事になるとは思いも寄らなかった ⇨ I never thought things would turn out this way
思いの外 [(2)おもいのほか] meaning: unexpected rank: 3
☆ 実際にやってみると思いの外面白かった ⇨ When I actually tried it, it was a lot more fun than I had thought
事 [(2)こと] [とした事が] meaning: unexpected rank: 4
☆ 私とした事が何と初歩的な失敗をしてしまったのだろう ⇨ I cannot believe myself that I made such a rookie mistake (☛ When someone who is considered very capable makes a bad mistake unexpectedly, and often disappointingly)
► 名詞
まさか [(1)まさか] meaning: unexpected rank: 1
☆ 日頃からまさかの時に備えることが必要だ ⇨ It is necessary to prepare on the regular basis for the unexpected
不慮 [(1)ふりょ] [liter] meaning: unexpected rank: 3
☆ 彼は事故で不慮の死を遂げた ⇨ He died unexpectedly in an accident
伏兵 [ふくへい] meaning: unexpected rank: 4
☆ 昨年の優勝者が一回戦で思わぬ伏兵に破れた ⇨ The last year’s champion lost to an unexpected ambush, unheralded player, in the first round (☛ Literally “lay-low soldier” and means “ambush”)
► 形容詞
あっけない [(4)あっけない] meaning: unexpected rank: 2
☆ 彼はあんなに元気だったのにインフルエンザであっけなく死んでしまった ⇨ He was so healthy but died from a flu unexpectedly and too easily (☛ Unexpected and very quick without much resistance)
思い掛け無い [(5)おもいがけない] meaning: unexpected rank: 2
☆ 思いがけない収入があった ⇨ I had an unexpected income
► 形容動詞
意外 [いがい] meaning: unexpected rank: 1
☆ それは意外だ ⇨ That’s not what I expected
☆ 意外な結果に皆驚いた ⇨ Everybody was surprised by the unexpected result
予想外 [よそうがい] meaning: unexpected rank: 2
☆ チームは予想外に健闘した ⇨ The team performed far better than expected
☆ 予想外の出費が嵩んだ ⇨ Unexpected expenses piled up
☆ 結果は全く予想外だった ⇨ The result was totally unexpected
不意 [(1)ふい] [liter] meaning: unexpected rank: 3
☆ 彼が不意に現れた ⇨ He showed up unexpectedly
► 連体詞
思わぬ [おもわぬ] [liter] meaning: unexpected rank: 2
☆ 彼等は思わぬ敗戦を喫した ⇨ They suffered an unexpected loss