置之不理 (zhì zhī bù lǐ) — to ignore completely; to brush aside | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A chengyu meaning to deliberately ignore or brush something aside — stronger than simply not noticing; implies a conscious choice to disregard.

idiom

to ignore completelyto brush aside

Examples

置之不理。
Tā duì suǒ yǒu pī píng dōu zhì zhī bù lǐ.
He ignores all criticism.
，置之不理。
Zhè ge wèn tí hěn zhòng yào, wǒ men bù néng zhì zhī bù lǐ.
This issue is very important; we can't ignore it.
，置之不理。
Tā duō cì xiě xìn qiú zhù, dàn dōu bèi zhì zhī bù lǐ le.
She wrote many letters asking for help, but they were all ignored.

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.

罒直置

Meaning part形符xíngfú

罒Written in full as网wǎng

Sound part声符shēngfú

直

直zhí置zhì

Same sound today

置 is built from 罒, a net, on top and 直 below; 直 gives the sound.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

止止zhǐfoot
一一yīthe beginning place

The shape pairs 止, a foot, with 一, a beginning place, and means to go.

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.

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.

Appears in

Idioms & Set Phrases

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