只可意會,不可言傳

简 只可意会,不可言传 · 繁 只可意會,不可言傳
Mandarin · pinyin zhǐ kě yì huì , bù kě yán chuán

Meanings

  1. can be understood, but not described (idiom, from Zhuangzi 莊子 Zhuāng zǐ); mysterious and subtle
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Characters in this entry

只
zhǐ · only, just, simply
可
kě · may, can, -able; possibly
意
yì · thought, idea, opinion; think
會
huì · to assemble, meet together; a meeting; an organization
不
bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
言
yán · words, speech; speak, say; Kangxi radical 149
傳
chuán · summon; propagate, transmit
会
huì · assemble, meet together; meeting
传
chuán · summon; propagate, transmit
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

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只可意會,不可言傳 · find source passages ↗ · 只可意会,不可言传 · find source passages ↗

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只可意會,不可言傳 · zhi3 ke3 yi4 hui4 , bu4 ke3 yan2 chuan2
CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG · edition 2026-10-13 · source line 19,072
Original dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source & transformation details
Exact source record只可意會,不可言傳 只可意会,不可言传 [zhi3 ke3 yi4 hui4 , bu4 ke3 yan2 chuan2] /can be understood, but not described (idiom, from Zhuangzi 莊子|庄子[Zhuang1 zi3]); mysterious and subtle/