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说不过去 (shuō bú guò qù) — cannot be justified or explained away; unreasonable; unacceptable

Definition

A chengyu-like expression used to judge a reason, explanation, or action as 'unjustifiable' or 'won't hold up'. Colloquial equivalent of 说不过去 is 说不过去; often negated as "这样做说不过去" (this can't be justified).

verb
cannot be justified or explained awayunreasonableunacceptable

Examples

  • 说不过去，。
    Nǐ de lǐ yóu shuō bú guò qù, wǒ bù néng jiē shòu.
    Your reason is unjustifiable; I can't accept it.
  • 说不过去，。
    Zhè yàng zuò shí zài shuō bú guò qù, dà jiā dōu bù mǎn yì.
    Doing this is really unreasonable; everyone is dissatisfied.
  • 说不过去，。
    Zhè ge jiě shì shuō bú guò qù, nǐ zuì hǎo zài xiǎng xiǎng.
    This explanation doesn't hold water; you'd better think again.

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 說; 说 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yán
Sound part声符shēngfú
兌
兌duì說shuō
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 說 pairs 言 (meaning) with 兌 (sound); the simplified 说 is not the form described here.

Open 说 →

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 過; 过 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辵辵chuòwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
咼
咼wāi過guò
Same sound today

The traditional form 過 pairs 辵 (walk) with 咼 as a sound component; the simplified 过 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 过 →

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

去 pairs 大, a man, with 口, a mouth or object. The evidence reads this as a man leaving a place, a man opening his mouth, or a cover over an object.

Open 去 →
Appears in
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