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不可理喻

Mandarin · pinyin bù kě lǐ yù

(idiom) impervious to reason; unreasonable

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Characters in this entry

不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
可: kě · may, can, -able; possibly
理: lǐ · reason, logic; manage
喻: yù · metaphor, analogy; example; like

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

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Mandarin tones

4–3–3–4 · bu4 ke3 li3 yu4

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

bat1 ho2 lei5 jyu6

Cantonese word readings for 不可理喻. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

phrase

(idiomatic) to defy reason; to be unreasonable because of stupidity or stubbornness

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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