CHENGYU
不可思议(bù kě sī yì)meaning, story and origin
- Register:
- neutral
- Source:
- 《维摩诘所说经·不思议品》
MEANING
- Literal
- beyond thought and discussion
- Figurative meaning
- incredible; unimaginable
ORIGIN STORY
From the Vimalakirti Sutra: the liberation of the Buddhas is called "inconceivable" — beyond what thought can reason and words can reach. The Buddhist term stepped into daily speech as "incredible".
NATURAL EQUIVALENT
“beyond belief”
EXAMPLES
他居然做到了，真是不可思议。Tā jūrán zuò dào le, zhēn shì bù kě sī yì.HSK6
He actually did it — simply incredible.
这座桥建得这么快，令人不可思议。Zhè zuò qiáo jiàn de zhème kuài, lìng rén bù kě sī yì.HSK6
That the bridge went up so fast beggars belief.
COMMON MISTAKE
Watch out: It means astonishing and hard to believe — not "unthinkable" in the sense of forbidden.
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TRUST & SOURCES
- Reviewed by
- AI-assisted editorial review
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-15
- CC-CEDICT 2026-01-01