不着边际 — “To talk or write in a vague, irrelevant, or impractical manner”
不着边际 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to talk or write in a vague, irrelevant, or impractical manner”. To wander off the subject; to be beside the point. Literally, “Not touching the border or edge”.
Frequency
不着边际 Pronunciation and Pinyin
- 不bù
- 着zhuó
- 边biān
- 际jì
不着边际 Character Breakdown
Example Sentence with 不着边际
他的建议总是天马行空，不着边际，难以付诸实施
His suggestions are always wild and off-topic, making them difficult to implement.
Origin and Story of 不着边际
Once upon a time, there was a man who had been blind since birth and had never seen the sun. He asked others what the sun looked like.
People told him the sun was shaped like a round disk, and its light was similar to candlelight. However, he then mistook objects like a clock or a flute for the sun, which led to many jokes and misunderstandings.
Ultimately, he still could not truly understand what the sun was like, as his attempts to grasp it were always far from the actual concept.
Idioms Related to 不着边际
Synonyms of 不着边际
Antonyms of 不着边际
More idioms starting with 不
- bù不yī一ér而zú足numerous and varied, impossible to list all
- bù不sān三bù不sì四improper or disreputable
- bù不shàng上bù不xià下stuck in an awkward position
- bù不shàng上bù不luò落in an awkward or embarrassing situation
- bù不shì世zhī之yè业unparalleled achievements
- bù不shì世zhī之chóu仇unrivaled enmity
- bù不shì世zhī之gōng功unparalleled achievement
- bù不shì世zhī之lüè略unparalleled strategy
- bù不sàng丧bǐ匕chàng鬯peace and order, rituals undisturbed
- bù不fēng丰bù不jiǎn俭neither extravagant nor frugal
- bù不fēng丰bù不shā杀neither extravagant nor frugal
- bù不wèi为wǔ五dǒu斗mǐ米zhé折yāo腰Refuse to compromise integrity for meager gain
Questions about 不着边际
- What does 不着边际 mean?
- 不着边际 (bù zhuó biān jì) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to talk or write in a vague, irrelevant, or impractical manner”.
- How do you pronounce 不着边际?
- 不着边际 is pronounced bù zhuó biān jì in Mandarin Chinese.
- What does 不着边际 literally mean?
- Literally, 不着边际 means “not touching the border or edge”. It is used to mean “to talk or write in a vague, irrelevant, or impractical manner”.
- Where does 不着边际 come from?
- 不着边际 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
- What is the Chinese definition of 不着边际?
- 着：接触；边际：边界，边缘。挨不着边儿。多指说话空泛，不接触实际。