愚不可及

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Chinese

[edit]
stupid cannot; should not; must not to reach; and
trad. (愚不可及) 不可
simp. #(愚不可及) 不可

Etymology

[edit]

From the Analects, Book 5 (《論語·公冶長》). The modern meaning is a reinterpretation.

甯武子,有道無道愚不可及 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
甯武子,有道无道愚不可及 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
Nìng Wǔ Zǐ, bāng yǒudào zé zhì; bāng wúdào zé yú. Qí zhì kě jí yě, qí yú bùkě jí yě. [Pinyin]
Lord Wu of Ning (甯武子) was wise when the state was ruled by justice. He became foolish when the state was ruled by injustice. Others may be as good a wise man as he was, but never as good a fool as he was.

Pronunciation

[edit]

Idiom

[edit]

愚不可及

  1. (idiomatic) very stupid; stupid beyond reach