异常 meaning in English
unusual; abnormal; extremely; exceptionally
Meaning of 异常
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- unusual; abnormal
- extremely; exceptionally
How to use 异常
As an adjective, 异常 describes something abnormal, often in formal, technical or news contexts, such as weather, test results or system errors. As an adverb, it means "extremely" and sits before an adjective, sounding more formal than 非常. Example: 今天天气异常炎热。(Jīntiān tiānqì yìcháng yánrè.) The weather today is exceptionally hot.
异 (yì) means different and 常 (cháng) means normal or usual, so 异常 is literally "different from the usual." Think of it as the opposite of 正常 (zhèngcháng), normal.
Common mistake: Learners often use 异常 as a casual "very" in everyday speech, like 异常好吃. That sounds odd, so use 非常 (fēicháng) in conversation and keep 异常 for formal writing. Also, 异 is fourth tone (yì), not second tone like 移 (yí).
异常 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
异 yì · different · 6 strokes
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常 cháng · always · 11 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 异常.
| 非常 | fēicháng | very; really; unusual; extraordinary |
| 常常 | chángcháng | frequently; often |
| 正常 | zhèngcháng | normal; regular |
| 经常 | jīngcháng | frequently; constantly; regularly; often; day-to-day; everyday; daily |
| 平常 | píngcháng | ordinary; common |
| 常见 | cháng jiàn | commonly seen; common |
| 常用 | cháng yòng | in common usage |
| 通常 | tōngcháng | regular; usual; normal; usually; normally |
| 日常 | rìcháng | day-to-day; daily; everyday |
| 常识 | chángshí | common sense; general knowledge |
| 时常 | shícháng | often; frequently |
| 常规 | chángguī | code of conduct; conventions; common practice; routine (medical procedure etc) |
Questions about 异常
What does 异常 mean?
异常 (yìcháng) means "unusual; abnormal; extremely; exceptionally" and is used as a adjective and adverb.
How do you write 异常?
异常 is made of 2 characters: 异 (6 strokes), 常 (11 strokes). That is 17 strokes in total.
Is 异常 an HSK word?
Yes. 异常 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 异常 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 异常 is written 異常.
What is the difference between 异常 and 非常?
Both can mean "extremely" before an adjective, but 非常 is neutral and common in speech, while 异常 is formal and suggests something out of the ordinary. Only 异常 is commonly used to mean "abnormal," as in 检查结果异常 (the test results are abnormal).
Can 异常 be used as a noun?
Yes, in technical and computing contexts it often works like a noun meaning "an abnormality" or "an exception." For example, 系统出现异常 (xìtǒng chūxiàn yìcháng) means "the system has encountered an error."