📖 Meaning
Something that cannot be tolerated or permitted by reason and moral principle. It describes actions or behaviors so contrary to justice and common sense that they are entirely unacceptable. The phrase conveys strong moral condemnation.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom has no single definitive origin in classical literature; it is a compound expression built from the classical Chinese construction 理所 ("that which reason dictates") combined with 不容 ("cannot tolerate"). Similar formulations appear throughout Chinese philosophical and historical texts where moral reasoning is invoked to condemn wrongful conduct. It reflects the Confucian emphasis on li (理, principle or reason) as the ultimate standard for judging human behavior. Over time it became a fixed four-character expression used in both formal and colloquial contexts.
💡 Example Usage
这种欺凌弱小的行为，理所不容。
Such behavior of bullying the weak is utterly intolerable by any standard of justice.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 理所不容
- Pinyin: lǐ suǒ bù róng
- Literal Translation: reason, that which, not, tolerate
- Category: Morality
- Characters: 4