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不翼而飞 (bù yì ér fēi) — (of objects) to vanish without a trace; (of news, rumors) to spread like wildfire

Definition

A four-character idiom meaning something vanishes suddenly without a trace, or (for news/rumors) spreads incredibly fast. Both senses hinge on the image of 'flying without wings' — speed is the point, not the cause.

phrase
(of objects) to vanish without a trace(of news, rumors) to spread like wildfire

Examples

  • ，不翼而飞。
    Wǒ de shǒu jī fàng zài zhuō shàng, yì zhuǎn yǎn jiù bù yì ér fēi le.
    My phone was on the table, and in the blink of an eye it vanished.
  • 不翼而飞，。
    Zhè ge xiāo xi bù yì ér fēi, bú dào bàn tiān quán chéng dōu zhī dào le.
    This news spread like wildfire — within half a day the whole city knew.
  • 不翼而飞。
    Tā gāng mǎi de zì xíng chē dì èr tiān jiù bù yì ér fēi le.
    The bicycle he just bought vanished the next day.

Origin

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
羽羽yǔ
Sound part声符shēngfú
異
異yì翼yì
Same sound today

翼 combines 羽 (feathers/wings) with 異, which supplies the sound.

Open 翼 →

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

The shape of 而 is a picture of a beard.

Open 而 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 飛; 飞 is its simplified writing.

For 飞, the traditional form 飛 pictures a bird flying upwards.

Open 飞 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Idioms & Set Phrases

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.