Meaning of 没想到
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- didn't expect
How to use 没想到
没想到 is used to express surprise when something turns out differently from what you expected. It usually starts the sentence or clause, and the surprising fact follows. Example: 没想到他会来。(Méi xiǎngdào tā huì lái.) I didn't expect him to come.
Break it into 没 (méi) "not" + 想 (xiǎng) "think" + 到 (dào) "reach". Your thinking never reached that point, so you didn't see it coming.
Common mistake: Learners often say 不想到 when they mean "didn't expect". The correct form is 没想到, because it describes a past result, and 不想 means "don't want". Also keep 到 in the phrase. 没想 alone just means "didn't think about it".
没想到 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.
没 méi · have not · 7 strokes
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想 xiǎng · to think · 13 strokes
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到 dào · to reach · 8 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 没想到.
| 没有 | méiyǒu | haven't; hasn't |
| 看到 | kàndào | to see |
| 找到 | zhǎodào | to find |
| 得到 | dédào | to get; to obtain; to receive |
| 听到 | tīngdào | to hear |
| 没什么 | méi shénme | it doesn't matter; it's nothing; never mind; think nothing of it; it's my pleasure; you're |
| 没关系 | méi guānxi | it doesn't matter |
| 回到 | huídào | to return to |
| 来到 | láidào | to arrive; to come |
| 没事儿 | méishìr | to have spare time; free from work |
| 见到 | jiàndào | to see |
| 做到 | zuòdào | to accomplish; to achieve |
Questions about 没想到
What does 没想到 mean?
没想到 (méi xiǎngdào) means "didn't expect".
How do you write 没想到?
没想到 is made of 3 characters: 没 (7 strokes), 想 (13 strokes), 到 (8 strokes). That is 28 strokes in total.
Is 没想到 an HSK word?
Yes. 没想到 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 没想到 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 没想到 is written 沒想到.
What is the difference between 没想到 and 想不到?
Both express surprise and are often interchangeable. 没想到 stresses that you simply didn't expect it at the time. 想不到 suggests it was hard to imagine at all, and it can also come before a noun, as in 想不到的事 (xiǎngbudào de shì), "something unimaginable".
Can 没想到 be used for good surprises as well as bad ones?
Yes, it works for both. 没想到这么好吃 (méi xiǎngdào zhème hǎochī) means "I didn't expect it to be this tasty". 没想到下雨了 (méi xiǎngdào xià yǔ le) means "I didn't expect it to rain".