不翼而飞 — “To vanish mysteriously or disappear without a trace”
不翼而飞 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to vanish mysteriously or disappear without a trace”. (of news or information) to spread rapidly or like wildfire. Literally, “Without wings, yet flies away”.
不翼而飞 Pronunciation and Pinyin
不翼而飞 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 不翼而飞
Origin and Story of 不翼而飞
During the Warring States period, King Zhaoxiang of Qin dispatched General Wang Ji to lead an army to attack Handan, the capital of Zhao. After 17 months, the city remained uncaptured.
A soldier named Zhuang advised Wang Ji: "Please reward the soldiers to boost their morale, and we will surely take the city in one swift action. For good news, you see, spreads very quickly."
However, Wang Ji did not heed his advice. As a result, the city remained unconquered, and Wang Ji was eventually executed by the King of Qin.
Idioms Related to 不翼而飞
Antonyms of 不翼而飞
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
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Open the tool →Questions about 不翼而飞
What does 不翼而飞 mean?
不翼而飞 (bù yì ér fēi) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to vanish mysteriously or disappear without a trace”.
How do you pronounce 不翼而飞?
不翼而飞 is pronounced bù yì ér fēi in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 不翼而飞 literally mean?
Literally, 不翼而飞 means “Without wings, yet flies away”. It is used to mean “to vanish mysteriously or disappear without a trace”.
Where does 不翼而飞 come from?
不翼而飞 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 不翼而飞?
翼：翅膀。没有翅膀却飞走了。比喻物品忽然丢失。也比喻事情传播得很迅速。
