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不可理喻 (bù kě lǐ yù) — impossible to reason with; impervious to reason; (of a person) stubborn and irrational

Definition

A chengyu meaning 'impervious to reason' — describes a person who stubbornly refuses logic or persuasion. Used as a predicate or modifier (不可理喻的人), not as an action.

verb
impossible to reason withimpervious to reason(of a person) stubborn and irrational

Examples

  • 不可理喻，。
    Tā jiǎn zhí bù kě lǐ yù, zěn me shuō dōu bù tīng.
    He's simply impossible to reason with — no matter what you say, he won't listen.
  • ，不可理喻。
    Nǐ gēn tā jiǎng dào lǐ méi yòng, tā bù kě lǐ yù.
    It's useless to reason with him — he's impervious to reason.
  • 不可理喻，。
    Zhè zhǒng bù kě lǐ yù de rén, hái shì bié gēn tā zhēng le.
    With this kind of unreasonable person, you'd better not argue with him.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

不可not possible
不bùnot可kěcan
偏正Modifier + head
理喻reason and understand
理lǐreason喻yùunderstand
联合Coordinate

不 and 可 give 'not possible', 理 and 喻 give 'reason and understand', so one cannot be made to understand.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
丂
丂kǎo可kě
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

可 pairs 口 (mouth) with 丂 as a sound part; it is tied to air from the mouth, perhaps singing.

Open 可 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
玉玉yùjade
Sound part声符shēngfú
里
里lǐ理lǐ
Same sound today

理 pairs 玉 (jade) with 里, which shows how to say it; the jade part points to the old sense of polishing jade.

Open 理 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
俞
俞yú喻⁰yù
Same sound today

喻 pairs 口 (mouth) with 俞, which gives its sound.

Open 喻 →
Appears in
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