蛮不讲理 (mán bù jiǎng lǐ) — utterly unreasonable, completely irrational and arrogant

Definition

An idiomatic verb meaning 'utterly unreasonable' — describes a person or attitude that refuses to listen to reason. Stronger than just 不讲理, with an emphatic, judgmental tone.

verb
utterly unreasonable, completely irrational and arrogant

Examples

  • ，蛮不讲理。
    Tā zuò cuò liǎo shì hái mà bié rén, zhēn shì mán bù jiǎng lǐ.
    He did something wrong and still blamed others — truly utterly unreasonable.
  • 蛮不讲理，。
    Nǐ zhè zhǒng mán bù jiǎng lǐ de tài dù, méi rén yuàn yì bāng nǐ.
    With this kind of utterly unreasonable attitude, no one is willing to help you.
  • 蛮不讲理，。
    Dà jiā jué de tā de yāo qiú mán bù jiǎng lǐ, dōu bù tóng yì.
    Everyone thought his demand was utterly unreasonable and disagreed.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 蠻; 蛮 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
虫虫chóngsnake
Sound part声符shēngfú
䜌
䜌䜌蠻mán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 蠻 shows 虫 (a snake) for the meaning and 䜌 for the sound; the simplified 蛮 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical components.

Open 蛮 →

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 講; 讲 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánsay
Sound part声符shēngfú
冓
冓gòu講jiǎng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 講 puts 言, say, beside 冓, which gave it its sound; the simplified 讲 is a later abbreviation.

Open 讲 →

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 →

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