不可言传 (bù kě yán chuán) — (idiom) cannot be expressed in words; ineffable; beyond verbal description

Definition

An idiom for what cannot be put into words — must be experienced directly. It often pairs with 只可意会 to mean 'can only be sensed, not spoken'.

idiom
cannot be expressed in wordsineffablebeyond verbal description

Examples

  • ，不可言传。
    Zhè zhǒng gǎn shòu zhǐ kě yì huì, bù kě yán chuán.
    This kind of feeling can only be sensed, not expressed in words.
  • 不可言传。
    Yì shù de měi miào zhī chù wǎng wǎng bù kě yán chuán.
    The beauty of art is often ineffable.
  • ，不可言传，。
    Tā jiāo gěi wǒ de dào lǐ, yǒu xiē bù kě yán chuán, zhǐ néng zì jǐ tǐ huì.
    Some of the principles he taught me cannot be expressed in words — you have to experience them yourself.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

不可cannot
不bùnot可kěcan
偏正Modifier + head
言传convey in words
言yánwords传chuántransmit
偏正Modifier + head

「不可」 (cannot) and 「言传」 (convey in words) combine to mean beyond verbal description.

Characters in this word

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
口口kǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
丂
丂kǎo可kě
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

可 pairs 口 (mouth) with 丂 as a sound part; it is tied to air from the mouth, perhaps singing.

Open 可 →

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

The early form of 言 shows an opening and a mark indicating a location; the location is not described as the source of speech.

Open 言 →

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 傳; 传 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
人人rénman
Sound part声符shēngfú
專
專zhuān傳chuán
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 傳 puts 人 (man) beside 專, which gives the sound; the simplified 传 is a later shorthand, and its parts are not the historical ones.

Open 传 →

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