Chinese

不擇手段

/pu⁵¹ t͡sɤ³⁵ ʂoʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ tu̯än⁵¹/

to take any measures to do something; to stop at nothing; by hook or by crook; unscrupulously

Etymology graph

點擊節點放大 · Click a node to zoom in

不擇手段是由四個漢字組成。其中「不」表示否定；「擇」意為選擇、挑選或選出；「手」指手；「段」則表示部分、區段或份量。

在字形結構上，「擇」字結合了表示意義的「手」與表示聲音的「睪」。而「睪」字包含了「目」、「㚔」、「矢」與「廾」等組成部分。至於「段」字，是由表示意義的「殳」（一種古代兵器）與表示聲音的「厂」組成，「殳」字本身包含「𠘧」與「又」兩個部分。

根據《國語辭典》的解釋，這個詞彙描述的是為了達成目標，不顧一切地採用各種手段。

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

characterChinese不 “not; un-; in-; il-; im-; ir-”
characterChinese擇 “to select; to choose; to pick out”
- soundChinese睪 “to spy on”
  - ideaChinese目 “eye (Classifier: 雙／双 mn-t)”
  - ideaChinese㚔 “criminal / handcuffs”
  - ideaChinese矢 “arrow”
  - ideaChinese廾 “both hands”
characterChinese手 “hand (Classifier: 隻／只 m c mn; 雙／双 m mn; 對／对 c)”
characterChinese段 “section; piece; division”
- soundChinese厂 “cliff; habitable cave on a cliff”
- meaningChinese殳 “shu (an ancient Chinese weapon)”
  - ideaChinese𠘧 “used in 𠘧𠘧; refers to the wings of a bird in flight (according to the Shuowen Jiezi)”
  - ideaChinese又 “again; once more”

Wiktionary etymology text

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

Origin

不擇手段是由四個漢字組成。其中「不」表示否定；「擇」意為選擇、挑選或選出；「手」指手；「段」則表示部分、區段或份量。

根據《國語辭典》的解釋，這個詞彙描述的是為了達成目標，不顧一切地採用各種手段。

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

Lineage

characterChinese不 “not; un-; in-; il-; im-; ir-”
characterChinese擇 “to select; to choose; to pick out”
- soundChinese睪 “to spy on”
  - ideaChinese目 “eye (Classifier: 雙／双 mn-t)”
  - ideaChinese㚔 “criminal / handcuffs”
  - ideaChinese矢 “arrow”
  - ideaChinese廾 “both hands”
characterChinese手 “hand (Classifier: 隻／只 m c mn; 雙／双 m mn; 對／对 c)”
characterChinese段 “section; piece; division”
- soundChinese厂 “cliff; habitable cave on a cliff”
- meaningChinese殳 “shu (an ancient Chinese weapon)”
  - ideaChinese𠘧 “used in 𠘧𠘧; refers to the wings of a bird in flight (according to the Shuowen Jiezi)”
  - ideaChinese又 “again; once more”