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Word 343 of 2920

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案外

あんがい

unexpectedly

By Nihongo PathUpdated

Examples

  1. 試験は案外簡単だった。

    しけんはあんがいかんたんだった。

    The exam was unexpectedly easy.

  2. 駅まで案外近いですね。

    えきまであんがいちかいですね。

    It's closer to the station than I thought.

  3. 心配していたが、案外うまくいった。

    しんぱいしていたが、あんがいうまくいった。

    I had been worried, but it went better than expected.

  4. 案外早く返事が来て驚いた。

    あんがいはやくへんじがきておどろいた。

    I was surprised that the reply came sooner than expected.

Common patterns

案外簡単だ
easier than expected
案外早い
sooner than expected
案外おいしい
surprisingly tasty

Memory tip

案外 always measures reality against what you yourself had guessed, so it is happiest before an adjective: 案外安い, 案外難しい. 意外に can carry real surprise about an event; 案外 is milder, closer to "actually, not bad".

Kanji in this word

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What does 案外 mean?