📖 Meaning
The idiom means something is so numerous that it cannot be listed one by one. It emphasizes an overwhelming quantity or abundance. It is often used to describe countless examples, instances, or items that defy complete enumeration.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom originates from a letter titled "Answer to Yu Jingwen" (答俞景文) by Fang Xiaoru (方孝孺), a prominent scholar of the Ming Dynasty. In the letter, Fang Xiaoru discussed those whose names and works have been passed down through the ages, noting that while they are too numerous to enumerate, the majority were outstanding figures whose virtue filled their hearts and whose accomplishments were evident in their time. The phrase later became a common expression for describing an uncountable multitude of things or people.
💡 Example Usage
历史上因直言进谏而获罪的官员不可胜举。
Throughout history, officials who were punished for speaking out in remonstrance are too numerous to count.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 不可胜举
- Pinyin: bù kě shèng jù
- Literal Translation: not, can, exhaust, enumerate
- Category: Variety
- Characters: 4