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匪夷所思

Mandarin · pinyin fěi yí suǒ sī

unimaginable
outrageous
freakish

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Characters in this entry

匪: fěi · bandits, robbers, gangsters
夷: yí · ancient barbarian tribes
所: suǒ · place, location; numerary adjunct
思: sī · think, consider, ponder; final particle

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

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Mandarin tones

3–2–3–1 · fei3 yi2 suo3 si1

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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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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

fei2 ji4 so2 si1

Cantonese word readings for 匪夷所思. 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) not what an ordinary person can imagine; unimaginable; unusual; fantastic

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

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