out of the blue

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

• /aʊt əv ðə ˈbluː/
  Play
• Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  Play

Short for out of the blue sky, likening an unexpected event to lightning or rain coming suddenly from a cloudless sky.

58 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Afrikaans: uit die bloute — unexpectedly
• Arabic: فَجْأَةً (fajʔatan) — unexpectedly
• Arabic: عَلَى حِينِ غِرَّةٍ (ʕalā ḥīni ḡirratin) — unexpectedly
• Arabic: عَلَى حِينِ غَفْلَةٍ (ʕalā ḥīni ḡaflatin) — unexpectedly
• Chinese Mandarin: 出其不意 (chūqíbùyì) — unexpectedly
• Chinese Mandarin: 出乎意料 (chūhūyìliào) — unexpectedly
• Czech: zčistajasna — unexpectedly
• Danish: ud af det blå — unexpectedly
• Dutch: uit het niets — unexpectedly
• Dutch: zomaar — unexpectedly
• Finnish: yllättäen — unexpectedly
• Finnish: kuin salama kirkkaalta taivaalta — unexpectedly
• French: comme un cheveu sur la soupe — unexpectedly
• French: comme un chien dans un jeu de quilles — unexpectedly
• French: de nulle part — unexpectedly
• German: (wie) aus heiterem Himmel — unexpectedly
• German: (wie) aus blauem Himmel — unexpectedly
• German: aus dem Nichts — unexpectedly
• German: aus dem Blauen heraus — unexpectedly
• Hungarian: a semmiből — unexpectedly
• Hungarian: hirtelen — unexpectedly
• Hungarian: váratlanul — unexpectedly
• Hungarian: meglepetésszerűen — unexpectedly
• Icelandic: eins og þruma úr heiðskíru lofti — unexpectedly
• Icelandic: eins og skrattinn úr sauðaleggnum — unexpectedly
• Icelandic: sem reiðarslag — unexpectedly
• Icelandic: eins og þruma úr heiðríkju — unexpectedly
• Icelandic: öllum að óvörum — unexpectedly
• Italian: inaspettatamente — unexpectedly
• Italian: di punto in bianco — unexpectedly
• Italian: come un fulmine a ciel sereno — unexpectedly
• Italian: dal nulla — unexpectedly
• Japanese: 藪から棒 — unexpectedly
• Japanese: 出し抜け — unexpectedly
• Korean: 갑자기 (gapjagi) — unexpectedly
• Latin: inexspectate — unexpectedly
• Lithuanian: lyg perkūnas iš giedro dangaus — unexpectedly
• Māori: matawhawhati — unexpectedly
• Māori: whāia ka/kua (nei) — unexpectedly
• Norwegian: ut av det blå — unexpectedly
• Norwegian: som lyn fra klar himmel — unexpectedly
• Polish: jak grom z jasnego nieba — unexpectedly
• Polish: ni stąd, ni zowąd — unexpectedly
• Portuguese: do nada — unexpectedly
• Portuguese: da cartola — unexpectedly
• Portuguese: à toa — unexpectedly
• Romanian: din senin — unexpectedly
• Serbo-Croatian: ка̏о гро̑м из ве̏дра не̏ба — unexpectedly
• Serbo-Croatian: kȁo grȏm iz vȅdra nȅba — unexpectedly
• Spanish: de la nada — unexpectedly
• Spanish: de repente — unexpectedly
• Spanish: de sopetón — unexpectedly
• Spanish: como caído de las nubes — unexpectedly
• Swedish: som en blixt från klar himmel — unexpectedly
• Ukrainian: як сніг на голову (jak snih na holovu) — unexpectedly
• Ukrainian: як грім з я́сного не́ба (jak hrim z jásnoho néba) — unexpectedly
• Ukrainian: як грім се́ред я́сного не́ба (jak hrim séred jásnoho néba) — unexpectedly
• Vietnamese: đang không — unexpectedly