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稀奇古怪 (xī qí gǔ guài) — bizarre; fantastic; weird; outlandish; grotesque

Definition

An idiom describing things that look strange, odd, or out of the ordinary — often with a tinge of 'fantastic' or 'grotesque'. Used freely as a modifier (e.g., 稀奇古怪的想法).

idiom
bizarrefantasticweirdoutlandishgrotesque

Examples

  • 稀奇古怪，。
    Tā chuān le yí jiàn xī qí gǔ guài de yī fu, dà jiā dōu xiào le.
    He wore a bizarre outfit, and everyone laughed.
  • 稀奇古怪。
    Bó wù guǎn lǐ chén liè zhe xǔ duō xī qí gǔ guài de wén wù.
    The museum displays many fantastic artifacts.
  • 稀奇古怪，。
    Zhè ge gù shi de qíng jié hěn xī qí gǔ guài, ràng rén nán sì zhì xìn.
    The plot of this story is very bizarre, making it hard to believe.

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
禾禾hégrain
Sound part声符shēngfú
希
希xī稀
Same sound today

稀 has 禾 (grain) beside 希, and 希 gives the character its sound.

Open 稀 →

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 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

One reading of 古 sees a shield-like shape above an open mark, showing strength and firmness. Another sees a person spitting out bad-tasting food.

Open 古 →

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
忄Written in full as心xīn
Sound part声符shēngfú
圣
圣shèng怪guài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

怪 is built from 忄, a form of 心, which relates to mind or feeling, and 圣, which gives the sound.

Open 怪 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set Phrases

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