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无奇不有 (wú qí bù yǒu) — nothing is too bizarre; there is no lack of strange things; all sorts of weird things happen

Definition

A set phrase used to comment that the world is full of strange or surprising things — often with a tone of disbelief or resignation at what people or nature do.

idiom
nothing is too bizarrethere is no lack of strange thingsall sorts of weird things happen

Examples

  • 无奇不有，。
    Zhè ge shì jiè zhēn shì wú qí bù yǒu, shén me qí guài de shì dōu kě néng fā shēng.
    This world is truly full of wonders — any strange thing can happen.
  • ，无奇不有。
    Xīn wén lǐ bào dào de nà xiē shì, zhēn shì wú qí bù yǒu.
    The things reported in the news are really beyond belief.
  • 无奇不有，。
    Dà zì rán wú qí bù yǒu, hěn duō shēng wù wǒ men dōu méi jiàn guò.
    Nature has all sorts of wonders — there are many creatures we've never seen.

Origin

Characters in this word

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 →

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
大大dàbig; great
Sound part声符shēngfú
可
可kě奇
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

奇 pairs 大 (big; great) with 可, a sound part.

Open 奇 →

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
肉肉ròumeat
Sound part声符shēngfú
又
又yòu有yǒu
Same sound today

The form 有 combines 又, used for its sound, with a shape from 肉, 'meat'; the hand-holding-meat story is a folk explanation, not shown in the oldest shape.

Open 有 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set Phrases

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