源etymfun
About

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

匪夷所思

/feɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ i³⁵ su̯ɔ²¹⁴⁻²¹ sɹ̩⁵⁵/
not what an ordinary person can imagine; unimaginable; unusual; fantastic
    Post Share

    Etymology graph

    • inherited
    • borrowed
    • derived
    • parts
    • meaning component
    • sound component
    • related
    React Flow
    Press enter or space to select a node. You can then use the arrow keys to move the node around. Press delete to remove it and escape to cancel.
    Press enter or space to select an edge. You can then press delete to remove it or escape to cancel.

    點擊節點放大 · Click a node to zoom in

    The phrase describes something so extraordinary and surreal that it defies the boundaries of ordinary human imagination.
    The phrase describes something so extraordinary and surreal that it defies the boundaries of ordinary human imagination.

    Origin

    This phrase originates from the I Ching, specifically Hexagram 59. It describes something that is not what an ordinary person can imagine according to common logic.

    The phrase is formed with the character 匪, meaning robber, bandit, or gangster; it contains the semantic component 匚 (a kind of container) and the phonetic component 非 (not be; is not; not). The character 夷, referring to ancient tribes in China, is composed of 矢 (arrow), 大 (of great size; big; large; huge), and 弓 (bow).

    The character 所, meaning place or location, uses 戶 (door) as a phonetic component and 斤 (a traditional unit of weight) as a semantic component. Finally, 思, meaning to think or to cogitate, features the component 囟 (fontanelle) as both a semantic and phonetic component, alongside the semantic component 心 (heart).

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

    Lineage

    • characterChinese匪 “robber; bandit; gangster”
      • meaningChinese匚 “a kind of container”
      • soundChinese非 “not be; is not; not”
    • characterChinese夷 “ancient tribes in China”
      • ideaChinese矢 “arrow”
      • ideaChinese大 “of great size; big; large; huge”
      • ideaChinese弓 “bow (weapon) (Classifier: 張／张)”
    • characterChinese所 “place; location”
      • soundChinese戶 “door”
      • meaningChinese斤 “catty or jin, a traditional unit of weight, equal to 0.5 kilograms”
    • characterChinese思 “to think; to cogitate”
      • soundChinese囟 “fontanelle”
      • meaningChinese心 “heart (Classifier: 顆／颗 m; 個／个 c; 粒 mn)”
    Wiktionary etymology text

    From I Ching, Hexagram 59 (《易经·渙卦》)

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Meanings

    phrase
    1. not what an ordinary person can imagine; unimaginable; unusual; fantastic

    國語辭典 definitions

    1. 不是根據常理所能想像得到的。 例：他明明做錯事卻得到奬賞，真是令人匪夷所思。

    © 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
    • Wiktionary: 匪夷所思