DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

知其不可而為之

简知其不可而为之 · 繁知其不可而為之

Mandarin · pinyin zhī qí bù kě ér wéi zhī

Characters in this entry

知: zhī · know, perceive, comprehend
其: qí · his, her, its, their; that
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
可: kě · may, can, -able; possibly
而: ér · and; and then; and yet; but; Kangxi radical 126
為: Look up this written character
之: zhī · marks preceding phrase as modifier of following phrase; it, him her, them; go to
为: wèi · do, handle, govern, act; be

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

1–2–4–3–2–2–1 · zhi1 qi2 bu4 ke3 er2 wei2 zhi1

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

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Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

(idiomatic) synonym of 知其不可而為 /知其不可而为 (zhī qí bùkě ér wéi, “to (stubbornly) do something even though one knows it is impossible”)