似是而非 — “Seemingly correct or true but actually fallacious or false”
似是而非 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “Seemingly correct or true but actually fallacious or false”. Specious; misleading. Literally, “Seems right but isn't”.
Frequency
似是而非 Pronunciation and Pinyin
- 似sì
- 是shì
- 而ér
- 非fēi
似是而非 Character Breakdown
Example Sentence with 似是而非
他的论点听起来很有道理，但仔细一想，却是似是而非
His argument sounded very reasonable, but upon closer inspection, it was specious.
Origin and Story of 似是而非
During the Warring States period, the philosopher Zhuangzi traveled with his students. They encountered a lumberjack and Zhuangzi inquired why he didn't fell the large trees.
The lumberjack explained that the large trees were useless.
Later, at a friend's home, a servant asked about which chicken to butcher.
The host instructed them to kill the rooster that didn't crow.
Zhuangzi then told his students, 'One should strive to exist between usefulness and uselessness, in a state that is '似是而非' (seemingly right but actually not), so that no one can find fault.'
Idioms Related to 似是而非
Synonyms of 似是而非
Antonyms of 似是而非
More idioms starting with 似
- sì似dǒng懂fēi非dǒng懂seem to understand but not quite
- sì似céng曾xiāng相shí识a feeling of déjà vu
- sì似yǒu有rú如wú无to treat as if it doesn't exist
- shì似mèng梦chū初jué觉suddenly realize the truth as if waking from a dream
- sì似shuǐ水rú如yú鱼inseparable like fish and water
- sì似shuǐ水liú流nián年Time flows like water
- sì似qī漆rú如jiāo胶deeply devoted and inseparable
- shì似yù玉rú如huā花beautiful as jade and flowers
- sì似xiào笑fēi非xiào笑a faint, enigmatic, or half-smile
- sì似jiàn箭zài在xián弦poised for action
- sì似zuì醉rú如chī痴ecstatic and lost in obsession
- sì似fēi非ér而shì是seemingly wrong but actually right
Questions about 似是而非
- What does 似是而非 mean?
- 似是而非 (sì shì ér fēi) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “Seemingly correct or true but actually fallacious or false”.
- How do you pronounce 似是而非?
- 似是而非 is pronounced sì shì ér fēi in Mandarin Chinese.
- What does 似是而非 literally mean?
- Literally, 似是而非 means “Seems right but isn't”. It is used to mean “Seemingly correct or true but actually fallacious or false”.
- Where does 似是而非 come from?
- 似是而非 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
- What is the Chinese definition of 似是而非?
- 似：象；是：对；非：不对。好象是对的，实际上不对。