Definition
不料 (bù liào) is a conjunction meaning 'unexpectedly, to one's surprise', used to introduce an unexpected turn of events (e.g., 'but unexpectedly...'). It is more formal and literary than the adverbs 竟然/居然 (jìng rán/jū rán), which are common in speech and often express disbelief or disapproval. Unlike those, 不料 connects two clauses and does not modify a verb directly.
conjunction
unexpectedlyto one's surprise
Examples
- ，不料。Tā jīntiān běnlái yào lái de, bù liào línshí yǒu shì.He was supposed to come today, but unexpectedly something came up.
- ，不料。Wǒmen yǐwéi kǎoshì hěn jiǎndān, bù liào tímù fēicháng nán.We thought the exam would be easy, but to our surprise the questions were very hard.
- ，不料。Tā dǎsuàn cízhí, bù liào lǎobǎn xiān bǎ tā kāichú le.She planned to resign, but unexpectedly the boss fired her first.
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