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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

to keep going resolutely despite knowing the task is impossible (idiom)

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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.

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Mandarin tones

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

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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.

知其不可而為之 · find source passages ↗ · 知其不可而为之 · find source passages ↗

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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) 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”)

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

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