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Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

Explanations are written by a local model (gemma4) and only published after a verification pass against the cited sources. How it works.

Chinese

不以為然

/pu⁵¹ i²¹⁴⁻²¹ weɪ̯³⁵ ɻän³⁵/
to not accept as correct; to disagree; to object; to disapprove
  • 不以爲然
  • 不以为然
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Etymology graph

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Origin

The phrase is formed from four characters. 不 means not, un-, in-, il-, im-, or ir-. 以 is a preposition expressing a boundary in time, orientation, or direction. 為 (the simplified form of 爲) means to do, to accomplish, or to take action; its components include 又 (again; once more) and 象 (elephant).

Finally, 然 is the original form of 燃 (to burn). It consists of the semantic component 火 (fire; flame) and the phonetic component 肰 (dog meat). The component 肰 is composed of the semantic elements 肉 (meat; flesh) and 犬 (dog).

Confidence: high · written by gemma4:26b, checked statement-by-statement against the sources below.

Lineage

  • characterChinese不 “not; un-; in-; il-; im-; ir-”
  • characterChinese以 “a preposition that expresses a boundary in time, orientation, direction or quantity”
  • characterChinese為 “to do; to accomplish; to take action”
    • simplified fromChinese爲
    • ideaChinese又 “again; once more”
    • ideaChinese象 “elephant (Classifier: 頭／头 m; 隻／只 m c mn)”
  • characterChinese然 “original form of 燃 (rán, “to burn”)”
    • soundChinese肰 “dog meat”
      • meaningChinese肉 “meat; flesh”
      • meaningChinese犬 “dog”
    • meaningChinese火 “fire; flame (Classifier: 把 m; 團／团 m)”
Wiktionary etymology text

No etymology text yet. The graph shows what is known from the sources.

Meanings

phrase
  1. to not accept as correct; to disagree; to object; to disapprove
  2. to not care; to not regard as important

國語辭典 definitions

  1. 不認為是對的，即不同意。 例：我對他剛才所說的話不以為然。

© Ministry of Education, Taiwan — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW, shown unaltered.

Sources

  • etymagent (local gemma4:26b) — Generated
  • 教育部《國語辭典簡編本》 (Taiwan MOE) — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW
  • Written form — n/a
  • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0