不可思议
- Literal
- impossible to think about or put into words
- Figurative
- Inconceivable, unimaginable, astonishing: something that completely defies the mind's ability to grasp or explain it.
Where does 不可思议 come from?
It is a term of Buddhist origin, rendering the Sanskrit "acintya," "that which cannot be thought." It appears in the Chinese sutras —notably in the Vimalakīrti Sutra, which devotes a chapter to "the inconceivable"— referring to the powers and truths of the buddhas, so profound that they surpass thought (思) and speech (议). From that religious use it passed into everyday speech, where today it simply describes anything incredible or astonishing.
Source (出处): 《维摩诘经》
How is 不可思议 used? Two examples
- 他一个人爬上了那座山，真是不可思议。
He climbed that mountain all by himself; it's truly unbelievable.
- 这么短的时间就学会了中文，简直不可思议。
Learning Chinese in such a short time is simply astonishing.
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