---
title: "Buliao Meaning: 不料 (bùliào) Means “unexpectedly”"
description: "不料 (bùliào) means “unexpectedly; to one's surprise”. Hear its tones, see what 不 and 料 each mean and a real sentence that uses it."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/buliao"
published: "2026-10-21"
updated: "2026-11-06"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

[What does it mean in Chinese?](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning)

# What does 不料 mean?

猫头鹰māotóuyīngowl

不料 bùliào

## unexpectedly; to one's surprise

## Its characters

1. 不 bù not
2. 料 liào material

## In a sentence

我本想早点到，不料路上堵车了。 I meant to arrive early, but unexpectedly there was a traffic jam.

我差点笑出声来，**不料**看了一会儿，竟然好像真的看见了那匹马。

From [京剧是什么？ · What is Peking opera?](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/what-is-peking-opera#library-word-287-289)

[More about 不料](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E4%B8%8D%E6%96%99)

## More words with 不 or 料

- [必不可少 bìbùkěshǎo](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/bibukeshao)
- [不安 bù’ān](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/buan)
- [不必 bùbì](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/bubi)
- [不便 bùbiàn](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/bubian)
- [不曾 bùcéng](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/buceng)
- [不成 bùchéng](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/bucheng)
- [不错 bùcuò](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/bucuo)
- [不但 bùdàn](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/budan)
- [不当 bùdàng](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/budang)
- [不得 bùdé](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/bude)

## Keep 不料 for Review

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