预料

• Pinyin: yù liào
• Hanzi breakdown: 预 = 予 + 页 (in advance); 料 = 米 + 斗 (grain + measuring vessel — to measure, reckon, estimate)

Meaning

To anticipate; to expect; to predict; expectation; prediction. Forming a reasonable expectation about a future event based on available information.

Used as both verb (预料到 — to anticipate) and noun (出乎预料 — beyond expectation, 在预料之中 — within expectation). More deliberate and rationally grounded than 预感 (premonition). Less technically formal than 预测 (forecast). Key phrase: 出乎意料/出乎预料 (beyond what was anticipated), one of the most common structures.

Examples

1. 原本被预料为温和调整的会议，最后却意外宣布大幅加息，震动了全球市场。 The meeting, which had been expected to bring only a mild adjustment, instead unexpectedly announced a sharp rate hike and shocked global markets.
2. 研究发现，这一代独生子女的实际生育率远低于政策制定者预料的水平，给社保体系带来压力。 Research found that the actual birth rate of this generation of only children was far below the level policymakers had expected, putting pressure on the social security system.
3. 在自然科学中，最深刻的突破常来自当时没人预料到的实验异常，而认真对待它们推动了范式转变。 In natural science, the deepest breakthroughs often come from experimental anomalies that no one at the time expected, and taking them seriously drives paradigm shifts.

Usage Guide

Context: analysis, science, journalism, decision-making

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 政策实施后到第三季度才见效，速度和幅度都低于最初的预料，相关部门只好调整方案。(After the policy was implemented, it did not take effect until the third quarter, and both the speed and scale were below the original expectations, so the relevant departments had to adjust the plan.)
• 研究团队在数据分析中意外发现，这种化合物对另一类炎症病也有明显抑制作用，超出预料，并启动了两项新研究。(During data analysis, the research team unexpectedly found that this compound also has a clear inhibitory effect on another inflammatory disease, beyond expectations, and they launched two new studies.)

Don't Say

• 出乎预料的是，今天天气很好 — not wrong but 出乎预料 is somewhat heavy for casual weather observations; use 没想到 (didn't expect) or 没料到 for lighter everyday surprises

Origin & History

预 (in advance) + 料 (to reckon/estimate — 米grain + 斗measuring vessel, to measure grain, hence to calculate/reckon). Together: to calculate/reckon in advance.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal