Chinese

難以置信

/nän³⁵ i²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʈ͡ʂɻ̩⁵¹⁻⁵³ ɕin⁵¹/

unbelievable; incredible

难以置信

Etymology graph

inherited
borrowed
derived
parts
meaning component
sound component
related

React Flow

點擊節點放大 · Click a node to zoom in

Origin

The phrase 難以置信 is formed by combining four characters. 難 means difficult, hard, or troublesome; 以 is a preposition expressing a boundary in time, orientation, or direction; 置 means to put, to place, or to plant; and 信 means true, accurate, or verifiable.

In the character 難, the semantic component is 隹 (short-tailed bird) and the phonetic component is 暵 (to dry by exposing to the sun). The character 置 uses the semantic component 网 (net) and the phonetic component 直 (straight; linear; undeviating). The character 信 consists of the semantic component 言 (to say; to speak; to talk) and the phonetic component 人 (man; person; people). The component 直 is itself formed from 目 (eye) and 丨 (to connect vertically; to pass through from top to bottom).

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

這個詞組由四個漢字組成：難、以、置、信。其中「難」意指困難、艱難或麻煩，其字形包含表示「短尾鳥」的語義成分「隹」，以及作為音符的「暵」。「以」是一個介詞，用來表達時間、方向或界限。「置」的意思是放置、安置或栽種，由語義成分「網」與音符「直」組成，而「直」字本身包含「目」與「丨」兩個部分。

最後一個字「信」代表真實、準確或可驗證，由語義成分「言」與音符「人」組成。整個詞組透過這些字元的組合，用來描述一件事情極其難以讓人產生信任感。

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

Lineage

characterChinese難 “difficult; hard; troublesome”
- soundChinese暵 “to dry by exposing to the sun”
- meaningChinese隹 “short-tailed bird”
characterChinese以 “a preposition that expresses a boundary in time, orientation, direction or quantity”
characterChinese置 “to put; to place; to plant”
- meaningChinese网 “net”
- soundChinese直 “straight; linear; undeviating”
  - ideaChinese目 “eye (Classifier: 雙／双 mn-t)”
  - ideaChinese丨 “To connect vertically; to pass through from top to bottom.”
characterChinese信 “true; accurate; verifiable”
- soundChinese人 “man; person; people (Classifier: 個／个 m c; 隻／只 h)”
- meaningChinese言 “to say; to speak; to talk”

Wiktionary etymology text

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

The Anatomy of the Unbelievable

On the etymfun blog ↗

Loading the illustrated story…

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

Origin

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

Lineage

characterChinese難 “difficult; hard; troublesome”
- soundChinese暵 “to dry by exposing to the sun”
- meaningChinese隹 “short-tailed bird”
characterChinese以 “a preposition that expresses a boundary in time, orientation, direction or quantity”
characterChinese置 “to put; to place; to plant”
- meaningChinese网 “net”
- soundChinese直 “straight; linear; undeviating”
  - ideaChinese目 “eye (Classifier: 雙／双 mn-t)”
  - ideaChinese丨 “To connect vertically; to pass through from top to bottom.”
characterChinese信 “true; accurate; verifiable”
- soundChinese人 “man; person; people (Classifier: 個／个 m c; 隻／只 h)”
- meaningChinese言 “to say; to speak; to talk”