不料
búliào · HSK 6
unexpectedly
❗ 不 (not) + 料 (expect) = not expected = unexpectedly
料 means to anticipate or reckon; 不料 literally negates that anticipation. Often used to introduce a surprising turn: 'who would have thought...' or 'unexpectedly...'
不 — single pictograph; bird flying upward
Originally a pictograph in oracle bone script, traditionally interpreted as a bird flying up toward the sky and unable to come down, suggesting negation or refusal. Over time it became the standard negation word in Chinese, used before verbs and adjectives to mean 'not'.
料 — rice 米 + dipper 斗
料 combines 米 (rice/grain) with 斗 (a measuring dipper), depicting the act of measuring out grain. From this concrete sense it extended to 'to measure, estimate, anticipate' and to 'materials' (things measured out for use), as in 材料 'materials' and 预料 'to anticipate'.