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非同寻常 (fēi tóng xún cháng) — unusual; extraordinary; out of the ordinary

Definition

Written/literary idiom meaning 'highly unusual, extraordinary' — stronger than plain 特别 or 不一般, and used in formal writing or to emphasize something remarkable.

idiom
unusualextraordinaryout of the ordinary

Examples

  • 非同寻常，。
    Tā de chéng gōng fēi tóng xún cháng, ràng suǒ yǒu rén dōu hěn jīng yà.
    His success was extraordinary, surprising everyone.
  • 非同寻常，。
    Jīn nián de tiān qì fēi tóng xún cháng dì rè, dǎ pò le lì shǐ jì lù.
    This year's weather is unusually hot, breaking historical records.
  • 非同寻常，。
    Zhè bù diàn yǐng de gù shi qíng jié fēi tóng xún cháng, zhí dé yí kàn.
    The storyline of this movie is out of the ordinary; it's worth watching.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

The shape of 非 is drawn from two wings facing opposite directions. It later came to be used for going against or not being.

Open 非 →

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

同 originally drew a pipe. It is the old form of 筒.

Open 同 →

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

寻 is formed from 又 (hand) and 寸 (hand).

Open 寻 →

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
巾巾jīncloth
Sound part声符shēngfú
尚
尚shàng常cháng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

常 pairs 巾, a cloth, with 尚 as a sound part; the form originally referred to a lower garment.

Open 常 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set PhrasesGood & Bad

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