意外

いがい

unexpected, unforeseen

Mnemonic

A sound landing on a heart, and everything outside it. The same いがい as 以外 except turned inwards: what happened was outside the part your mind had set aside room for: いがい.

Worth knowing

Same reading as 以外いがい, except for. 意外 is a surprise, 以外 is an exclusion, and only the kanji separates them.

Built from

意

idea, mind

音 sound + 心 heart

外

outside

夕 evening + 卜 divining stick

Also read いがい

以外 except for

Words sharing these kanji

意味 meaning, significance 用意 preparation, getting ready 意識 consciousness, awareness 意見 opinion 注意 care, watch out 意志 will, volition 不意に suddenly, unexpectedly 決意 decision, resolution 外 outside 外す to remove 外れる to come undone, to be removed

This is one of 1,500 words in Emaki, a free spaced repetition trainer with a written mnemonic on every card.

Study 意外 in Emaki

Free, no account needed. Your progress stays in your browser.

Emaki is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, Kaishi 1.5k or its authors. The word, reading and meaning come from the Kaishi 1.5k deck, used with their permission. The mnemonic, the note and the kanji breakdown are original work, published under CC BY-SA 4.0.