匪夷所思
Chinese
| not | normal; ordinary | what one thinks; one's thoughts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| trad. (匪夷所思) | 匪 | 夷 | 所思 | |
| simp. #(匪夷所思) | 匪 | 夷 | 所思 | |
Etymology
From I Ching, Hexagram 59 (《易经·渙卦》):
- 六四：渙其群，元吉。渙有丘，匪夷所思。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad.]
- From: I Ching, 11th – 8th century BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
- Liù sì: huàn qí qún, yuán jí. Huàn yǒu qiū, fěi yí suǒ sī. [Pinyin]
- The fourth SIX, divided, shows its subject scattering the (different) parties (in the state); which leads to great good fortune. From the dispersion (he collects again good men standing out, a crowd) like a mound, which is what ordinary men would not have thought of.
六四：涣其群，元吉。涣有丘，匪夷所思。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, simp.]
Pronunciation
- Mandarin
- (Pinyin): fěiyísuǒsī
- (Zhuyin): ㄈㄟˇ ㄧˊ ㄙㄨㄛˇ ㄙ
- Cantonese (Jyutping): fei2 ji4 so2 si1
- Southern Min (Teochew, Peng'im): huin2 i5 so2 se1
- Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Hanyu Pinyin: fěiyísuǒsī
- Zhuyin: ㄈㄟˇ ㄧˊ ㄙㄨㄛˇ ㄙ
- Tongyong Pinyin: fěiyísuǒsih
- Wade–Giles: fei3-i2-so3-ssŭ1
- Yale: fěi-yí-swǒ-sz̄
- Gwoyeu Romatzyh: feeiyisuoosy
- Palladius: фэйисосы (fɛjisosy)
- Sinological IPA (key): /feɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ i³⁵ su̯ɔ²¹⁴⁻²¹ sz̩⁵⁵/
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
- Jyutping: fei2 ji4 so2 si1
- Yale: féi yìh só sī
- Cantonese Pinyin: fei2 ji4 so2 si1
- Guangdong Romanization: féi2 yi4 so2 xi1
- Sinological IPA (key): /fei̯³⁵ jiː²¹ sɔː³⁵ siː⁵⁵/
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
- Southern Min
- (Teochew)
- Peng'im: huin2 i5 so2 se1
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: húiⁿ î só sṳ
- Sinological IPA (key): /hũĩ⁵²⁻³⁵ i⁵⁵⁻¹¹ so⁵²⁻³⁵ sɯ³³/
- (Teochew)
- Middle Chinese: pj+jX yij srjoX si
- Old Chinese
- (Baxter–Sagart): /*pəjʔ ləj s-qʰ<r>aʔ [s]ə/
- (Zhengzhang): /*pɯlʔ lil sqʰraʔ snɯ/
Idiom
匪夷所思
- not what an ordinary person can imagine; unimaginable; unusual; fantastic