How to say "surprising" in Japanese


I saw this link - [When is the correct situation to use 案外 or
意外?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/6258/when-is-the-correct-
situation-to-use-%E6%A1%88%E5%A4%96-or-%E6%84%8F%E5%A4%96) It taught me a new
word （案外） and explained its difference from 意外 well.

But it's other words that have me confused.

意外 and 驚くべき. Both mean surprising. When would each be used? What is the
difference in meaning?

Also ブクリシタ (not sure how to spell it) - I'm told this is only used in spoken
Japanese and never in written Japanese... is it dialect? Seems unusual that it
would be never written at all. How does this one enter the mix?




I think these are in many cases semantically (not grammatically)
interchangeable, but the nuances are as follows:

  * 案外: _(adverb)_ The situation is not what the speaker originally expected, but he is not very surprised at it. "Rather" is the closest to this.
  * 意外: _(na-adjective)_ The situation is not what the speaker originally expected, and he is more or less surprised. "Unexpected" is closer to this, I think.

One can say 「うわ、意外！」 or 「いがーい！」 after seeing something unexpected, but cannot
say 「案外！」.

  * 驚くべき: "Surprising", "Astonishing". It has nothing to do with someone's prior expectation. The degree of surprise is higher than the other two. (It's almost 連体詞 to me, but I'm not sure)

> この料理は案外おいしい。 This dish is more delicious than I had expected.  
>  この料理は意外においしい。 This dish is unexpectedly delicious.  
>  この料理は驚くべきおいしさだ。 This dish is surprisingly delicious.
>
> 意外な訪問者 An unexpected visitor  
>  驚くべき訪問者 A surprising visitor

  * びっくりする: _(verb)_ Be surprised. informal, but not a dialect.

> この料理はびっくりするほどおいしい。 This dish is surprisingly delicious.  
>  びっくりするような訪問者 A surprising visitor




I think these are in many cases semantically (not grammatically)
interchangeable, but the nuances are as follows:

  * 案外: _(adverb)_ The situation is not what the speaker originally expected, but he is not very surprised at it. "Rather" is the closest to this.
  * 意外: _(na-adjective)_ The situation is not what the speaker originally expected, and he is more or less surprised. "Unexpected" is closer to this, I think.

One can say 「うわ、意外！」 or 「いがーい！」 after seeing something unexpected, but cannot
say 「案外！」.

  * 驚くべき: "Surprising", "Astonishing". It has nothing to do with someone's prior expectation. The degree of surprise is higher than the other two. (It's almost 連体詞 to me, but I'm not sure)

> この料理は案外おいしい。 This dish is more delicious than I had expected.  
>  この料理は意外においしい。 This dish is unexpectedly delicious.  
>  この料理は驚くべきおいしさだ。 This dish is surprisingly delicious.
>
> 意外な訪問者 An unexpected visitor  
>  驚くべき訪問者 A surprising visitor

  * びっくりする: _(verb)_ Be surprised. informal, but not a dialect.

> この料理はびっくりするほどおいしい。 This dish is surprisingly delicious.  
>  びっくりするような訪問者 A surprising visitor

