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匪夷所思 (fěi yí suǒ sāi) — unimaginable; extraordinary; beyond what is normally conceivable; unbelievably strange or queer; baffling

Definition

A literary chengyu meaning 'bizarre beyond imagination' — used for ideas, events, or behavior so unusual they defy common sense. Stronger and more formal than everyday words like 奇怪.

idiom
unimaginableextraordinarybeyond what is normally conceivableunbelievably strange or queerbaffling

Examples

  • 匪夷所思，。
    Tā de xiǎng fǎ zhēn shì fěi yí suǒ sāi, méi rén néng lǐ jiě.
    His ideas are truly unimaginable — nobody can understand them.
  • 匪夷所思，。
    Zhè ge gù shi qíng jié fěi yí suǒ sāi, què fēi cháng xī yǐn rén.
    The plot of this story is bizarre, yet very captivating.
  • 匪夷所思，。
    Zhè zhǒng shè jì kàn sì fěi yí suǒ sāi, dàn xiào guǒ chū qí dì hǎo.
    This kind of design may seem extraordinary, but the effect is surprisingly good.

Origin

Characters in this word

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
匚匚fāngbox
Sound part声符shēngfú
非
非fēi匪fěi
Same sound today

匪 is built from 匚, a box, plus 非, which gives the sound.

Open 匪 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The original form showed 矢 (arrow) with 弓 (rope), and meant shooting arrows. Later forms showed 大 (person) with 弓 (bow).

Open 夷 →

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
斤斤jīnaxe
Sound part声符shēngfú
戶
戶hù所suǒ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

所 pairs 斤, an axe, with 戶, which gives the sound hù; the old meaning was the sound of logging.

Open 所 →

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
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
囟
囟xìn思sī
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 思, 心 (heart) points to thinking, while the top part is a changed form of 囟, which supplied the sound.

Open 思 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set Phrases

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