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似是而非

Mandarin · pinyin sì shì ér fēi

apparently right but actually wrong; specious (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

似: sì · resemble, similar to; as if, seem
是: shì · indeed, yes, right; to be; demonstrative pronoun, this, that
而: ér · and; and then; and yet; but; Kangxi radical 126
非: fēi · not, negative, non-; oppose; Kangxi radical 175

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

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Mandarin tones

4–4–2–1 · si4 shi4 er2 fei1

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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

ci5 si6 ji4 fei1

Cantonese word readings for 似是而非. 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) seemingly so, but not really; appears right, but in fact wrong; specious

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

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