出其不意 — “To catch one unawares”
出其不意 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to catch one unawares”. To take someone by surprise; to do something unexpectedly.
Frequency
出其不意 Pronunciation and Pinyin
- 出chū
- 其qí
- 不bù
- 意yì
出其不意 Character Breakdown
Example Sentence with 出其不意
魔术师出其不意地从帽子里变出了一只鸽子，观众们都惊叹不已。
The magician unexpectedly conjured a dove from his hat, astonishing the audience.
Origin and Story of 出其不意
During the late Eastern Han Dynasty, after Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao and brought stability to the northern regions, Gao Gan established himself as king in Bingzhou.
Meanwhile, Wei Gu and Fan Xian in Hedong outwardly requested to be appointed governors but were secretly allied with Gao Gan. Cao Cao, instead of appointing them, chose Du Ji as the governor of Hedong.
Du Ji announced that he would travel to his new post alone, which completely caught Wei Gu by surprise. He then cleverly sowed discord among them to solidify his own authority.
Idioms Related to 出其不意
Antonyms of 出其不意
More idioms starting with 出
- chū出yī一tóu头dì地to distinguish oneself
- chū出chǒu丑yáng扬jí疾expose one's disgraceful conduct publicly
- chū出chǒu丑fàng放guāi乖make a fool of oneself
- chū出shì世lí离qún群withdraw from society
- chū出shì世chāo超fán凡transcend the mundane and be extraordinary
- chū出hū乎qí其lèi类，，bá拔hū乎qí其cuì萃to be outstanding among one's peers
- chū出hū乎fǎn反hū乎go back on one's word
- chū出hū乎yì意wài外beyond one's expectations
- chū出hū乎yì意liào料beyond all expectation
- chū出hū乎yì意biǎo表beyond expectation
- chū出hū乎yù预liào料beyond expectation
- chū出guāi乖nòng弄chǒu丑make a fool of oneself
Questions about 出其不意
- What does 出其不意 mean?
- 出其不意 (chū qí bù yì) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to catch one unawares”.
- How do you pronounce 出其不意?
- 出其不意 is pronounced chū qí bù yì in Mandarin Chinese.
- Where does 出其不意 come from?
- 出其不意 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
- What is the Chinese definition of 出其不意?
- 其：代词，对方；不意：没有料到。趁对方没有意料到就采取行动。