📖 Meaning
Describes something so extraordinary, mysterious, or profound that it defies ordinary understanding or imagination. It conveys a sense of awe at something beyond the reach of human reasoning, whether wondrous or dreadful.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom traces back to the Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa Sūtra (《维摩诘所说经》), a Mahāyāna Buddhist text translated into Chinese during the Eastern Jin dynasty by Kumārajīva. In Buddhist philosophy, '不可思议' refers to the ineffable nature of ultimate truth (dharma) that cannot be grasped through ordinary conceptual thought. Over centuries the phrase entered secular Chinese, shedding its strictly religious connotation and becoming a common expression for anything that strains belief.
💡 Example Usage
这座古城在地下沉睡了上千年，保存之完好简直不可思议。
This ancient city lay dormant underground for over a thousand years; its remarkable state of preservation is truly inconceivable.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 不可思议
- Pinyin: bù kě sī yì
- Literal Translation: not, can, think, meaning
- Category: Philosophy
- Characters: 4