adverbial N3 common casualpolitewritten
意外と — unexpectedly / surprisingly
意外と ・ いがいと
Meaning
- surprisingly / unexpectedly ~ — what you find turns out different from what you'd assumed
Key sentence
このカフェ、意外と静かだね。
This café is surprisingly quiet, isn't it?
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Adjective / verb / clause (adverbial) | 意外と + adjective / verb / clause | 意外と難しい / 意外とうまくいった |
Variants
意外に ・ いがいに — Same meaning, slightly more formal/written; 意外と is the more conversational form.
Examples
試してみたら、意外と簡単だった。
When I tried it, it was surprisingly easy.
彼は無口だが、意外と話すと面白い。
He's quiet, but surprisingly fun to talk to.
Easily confused with
See 意外と in real sentences
Jengo shows 意外と the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar.