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案外 (あんがい) Japanese meaning | Kotomora
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The exam was surprisingly easy.
Unexpectedly, he didn't come.
Usage patterns 案あん 外がい 〈 形けい 容よう 詞し 〉 surprisingly [adjective] (contrary to what one expected)
This restaurant was surprisingly cheap.
案あん 外がい 〈 動どう 詞し 〉 to [verb] more smoothly/differently than expected
The test went better than I expected.
案あん 外がい な 〈 事こと 〉 an unexpected [thing/outcome]
I was surprised by the unexpected result.
Related words 意外 is typically used as a na-adjective for something clearly unexpected or surprising, while 案外 is more often an adverb that softly notes something differed from one's expectations.
思いのほか is a somewhat formal or literary way of saying 'more than expected', whereas 案外 is the everyday, more casual equivalent.
存外 means almost the same as 案外 but sounds noticeably more old-fashioned or literary in modern speech.
案外 expresses personal surprise that something turned out differently than thought, whereas 予想以上 specifically measures a result as exceeding a prior estimate.
案外 stresses that something turned out contrary to expectation, whereas 割に more mildly says something is more/less than expected for the situation.
Written forms 案あん 外がい Usage 96%
Standard kanji spelling; high-frequency in news and general use.
あんがい Usage 4%
Kana spelling is common in casual writing and when the kanji is not needed.
Etymology Compound of 案 (idea, expectation) and 外 (outside), literally 'outside one's expectations'. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the meaning has been stable in modern Japanese.
