What does "言い出すのかと 思えば" mean?


I ran into this phrase more than once now.

> 何を言い出すのかと思えば

I have found what 言い出す and かと思えば mean separately in dictionaries. I'm just not
sure what they mean when put together. My first interpretation was "Tell me
what you think."

But I don't know what would differentiate this phrase from just saying using 何
and 思う.




> 「何を言い出すのかと思えば」

is an expression used to describe how unexpected and/or surprising the (new)
topic is that the other person has just brought up.

A more literal translation would be:

> "Just when I was thinking what you/he/they might bring up, ~~."

To maintain the nuance of the original better, I might go with something like:

> "You/he/they bring(s) this up all of a sudden."

Hope you can arrange that to fit the context the best.

> My first interpretation was "Tell me what you think."

No, that is not what it means, I am afraid. It is almost a fixed expression
for us native speakers.

