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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

不可思議

/pu⁵¹ kʰɤ²¹⁴⁻²¹ sɹ̩⁵⁵ i⁵¹/
inconceivable; unimaginable; incomprehensible
  • 不可思议
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Origin

The term is a loan translation of the Sanskrit word अचिन्त्य (acintya, “inconceivable”) or the Pali acinteyya (“imponderable”). It originally refers to things that are mysterious and profound, making them difficult to imagine or understand, though it is now often used metaphorically for things that defy common logic.

As a compound, it is formed from the characters 不 (not), 可 (can; may; be able to), 思 (to think; to cogitate), and 議 (to talk over; to discuss). The character 可 combines the semantic component 口 (mouth) with the phonetic component 丂 (the appearance of air which is to be released). The character 思 uses the semantic component 心 (heart) and the component 囟 (fontanelle) as a phonetic component. The character 議 consists of the semantic component 言 (to say; to speak; to talk) and the phonetic component 義 (right conduct; righteousness; justice; morality).

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

此詞由四個漢字組成。其中「不」表示否定；「可」字由語義成分「口」與音符「丂」組成，而「丂」由「𠃑」與「一」構成；「思」字結合了語義成分「心」與成分「囟」；「議」字則由語義成分「言」與音符「義」組成，其中「義」由語義成分「羊」與音符「我」構成。

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

Lineage

  • calqueSanskritअचिन्त्य “inconceivable”
  • characterChinese不 “not; un-; in-; il-; im-; ir-”
  • characterChinese可 “can; may; be able to”
    • meaningChinese口 “mouth, especially the lips and internal mouth cavity (Classifier: 把 c)”
    • soundChinese丂 “the appearance of air which is to be released”
      • componentChinese𠃑
      • componentChinese一 “one”
  • characterChinese思 “to think; to cogitate”
    • soundChinese囟 “fontanelle”
    • meaningChinese心 “heart (Classifier: 顆／颗 m; 個／个 c; 粒 mn)”
  • characterChinese議 “to talk over; to discuss”
    • meaningChinese言 “to say; to speak; to talk”
    • soundChinese義 “right conduct; righteousness; justice; morality”
      • soundChinese我 “I; me; my”
      • meaningChinese羊 “caprid (e.g. sheep, goat, antelope, etc.) (Classifier: 隻／只 m c)”
Wiktionary etymology text

Calque of Sanskrit अचिन्त्य (acintya, “inconceivable”) or calque of Pali acinteyya (“imponderable”).

From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Meanings

adj
  1. inconceivable; unimaginable; incomprehensible
  2. incomprehensible by the human mind
noun
  1. The number 10⁶⁴

國語辭典 definitions

  1. 本指事物神祕奧妙，令人難以想像、理解。今亦多用於比喻事情出乎常理。 例：像他這麼不用功的人，竟然可以考滿分，真是不可思議。

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

Beyond the Reach of Thought and Speech

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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
  • Wiktionary: 不可思議