不ふ意い

ふ

い

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

1

na-adjective, noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no', noun

Describes something happening without warning or anticipation. Often used in adverbial phrases like 不意に (suddenly) or in compounds such as 不意打ち (surprise attack).

不ふ意いの来らい客きゃくに驚おどろいた。

I was surprised by the unexpected visitor.

彼かれは不ふ意いに立たち上あがった。

He suddenly stood up.

Usage patterns

不ふ意いの〈事こと〉an unexpected ~ (event, visitor, etc.)
不ふ意いの来らい客きゃくに驚おどろいた。
I was surprised by an unexpected visitor.
不ふ意いを食くうto be caught off guard / taken by surprise
後うしろから声こえをかけられて不ふ意いを食くった。
I was caught off guard when someone called out to me from behind.

Expressions

不ふ意いを打うつtake unawares; make a surprise attack
不ふ意いを突つくtake by surprise; catch off guard

Kanji

不negative, non-, bad
意idea, mind, heart

Related words

突とつ然ぜんN3
突然 is the everyday word for 'suddenly', while 不意 stresses being caught off guard due to a total lack of forewarning.
意い外がいN3
意外 means 'unexpected' in the sense of contrary to what one expected, while 不意 focuses on the abruptness and absence of any prior notice.
唐とう突とつ
唐突 emphasizes abruptness that feels out of place or ill-timed, whereas 不意 simply describes something happening without warning.
出だし抜ぬけ
だしぬけ is a more colloquial way to say 'all of a sudden', while 不意 is slightly more formal and often used in set phrases like 不意打ち.
意い表ひょう
不意 describes something sudden or unforeseen (as in 不意に or 不意打ち), whereas 意表 specifically refers to defying someone's expectations, chiefly in 意表を突く.

Word family

不ふ意い打うち
surprise attack; catching off guard
不ふ意いにN1
suddenly; abruptly; unexpectedly
不ふ意い試し験けん
surprise examination; pop quiz

Written forms

不ふ意いUsage59%
Standard kanji spelling; high-frequency in news and general use.
ふいUsage41%

Etymology

Compound of 不 (fu, 'not') and 意 (i, 'mind, expectation'), literally meaning 'not in mind' or 'unexpected'. The reading ふい is the on'yomi of both characters.