没想到 柱子还挺厉害
“Didn't think Zhu had it in him.”
THE DIALOGUE REEL
八成吧
“Maybe.”
没想到 柱子 还挺 厉害
“Didn't think Zhu had it in him.”
郝倩倩
“Hao Qianqian,”
“I honestly thought he couldn't pull it off, but he actually did surprisingly well.”
Using '还挺厉害' (actually quite good) rather than extravagant praise is a typical colloquial way to acknowledge someone exceeding modest prior expectations.
LEARNING CHUNKS & PARTICLES
didn't expect that / to one's surprise
Used at the beginning of a clause to express surprise at an unexpected outcome.
actually quite impressive / surprisingly capable
The word '还' adds a nuanced sense of 'contrary to expectations' or pleasant surprise.
VOCABULARY & EXPRESSIONS
Parallel Spoken Cinema Scenes (语义近邻切片)
“I didn't expect you and Juyun Pavilion”
“Found it. I didn't expect that I actually had one.”
“Yes. Didn't see this coming, did you?”
“I've never thought about it!”
“I'll figure something out.”
“Finally, changed your mind?”