My question is
Is there any difference between 流石{さすが} and 予想{よそう}した通{とお}りでした?
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Do you have any reason to believe they share similar meanings? Please provide your interpretations so we can better understand the question. – Jimmy May 10 '16 at 07:35
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Do you want to ask a question like the difference between 流石 and 期待した通りだ? – Yuuichi Tam May 10 '16 at 09:23
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@YuuichiTam: Yes. Any differences are welcome. – Display Name May 10 '16 at 09:29
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@Yasashii Eirian 流石 and 期待した通り means "as I hope". 流石 is only used in good hope and 期待した通り is also mostly same. However 期待した通り can be used in bad hope like 期待した通り、彼は試験に落ちた(He failed his exam as I hope) but a repugnant fellow may use like this. – Yuuichi Tam May 10 '16 at 11:55
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@YuuichiTam The word 'hope' means 'wish for an event to happen' (or not to happen); it does not mean 'foresee an event'. You want 'expect' for that. – Angelos May 10 '16 at 21:12
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@Nothing at all Thank you for teaching but I wrote about the difference between 流石 and 期待した通りだ. It is better that 期待する is translated as "as I hope" than "as I expect", isn't it? Because I read "expect" include the meaning "予想する" in dictionary – Yuuichi Tam May 11 '16 at 06:58
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さすが is most of the time written in hiragana. The kanji are ateji. – oals May 11 '16 at 17:52
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「[流石]{さすが}！」
「[予想]{よそう}したとおりだ / です / でした！」
Yes, there is an important difference in usage and meaning between the two. (I actually have seen Japanese-learners use them incorrectly on a few occasions because they thought that both meant "Just as expected!" without a difference in usage.)
When something that you have held a positive impression of in the past has proven to be just as good, you can say either one naturally.
When, however, something that you have held a negative impression of has proven to be just as bad, you can only say 「予想通り」. Saying 「流石」 in that situation would only make you sound sarcastic.
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1Incidentally, for anyone wondering why those particular ateji: http://detail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp/qa/question_detail/q129741902 – jogloran May 10 '16 at 08:07
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The literal meaning of さすが is that like "renowned (for doing something)" or "of established reputation", so you can see this word is only appropriate for the situations someone did something good as you expected, with the intent of praising the doer. In other settings I'm afraid it sounds out of place. Additionally, it's also used in さすがの～ (adjectively) and さすがに～ (adverbially) forms to convey feelings that can be translated as "even for the most [adjective] [noun]" (fill in right words from context).
Meanwhile, 予想した通り almost equals English "as one expected" or "as one suspected", both grammatically and semantically. But when you'd like to scream out the single phrase, there are often more better word-forms such as: 「思った通り」「予想通り」「だと思った」「やっぱり」 etc.
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