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史无前例 (shǐ wú qián lì) — unprecedented in history; having no parallel in the past

Definition

An idiom meaning 'unprecedented in history,' emphasizing something has never happened in recorded history. Synonymous with 前所未有; 前无古人 is more literary and focuses on no predecessors.

phrase
unprecedented in historyhaving no parallel in the past

Examples

  • ，史无前例。
    Zhè cì gǎi gé guī mó zhī dà, shǐ wú qián lì.
    The scale of this reform is unprecedented in history.
  • 史无前例。
    Tā huò dé le shǐ wú qián lì de róng yù.
    He received an honor unprecedented in history.
  • ，史无前例。
    Zài rén lèi lì shǐ shàng, zhè zhǒng jì shù jìn bù shǐ wú qián lì.
    In human history, this kind of technological progress is unprecedented.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

The old drawing showed someone holding a flag-like or writing tool, indicating the act of recording events; the exact inner shape is unclear.

Open 史 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 無; 无 is its simplified writing.

For the simplified 无, the story is about 無. 無 drew a person dancing with ox tails held in both hands to pray for rain, then was borrowed for 'have no', so the picture does not explain that meaning.

Open 无 →

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

In the older form of 前, 止 (foot) and 舟 (boat) showed a foot on a boat moving forward; in the current 前 those parts are shortened.

Open 前 →

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
亻Written in full as人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
列
列liè例lì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

例 is built from 亻, which relates to people, and 列, which gives the sound.

Open 例 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HistoryIdioms & Set Phrases

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