不假思索

bùjiǎ-sīsuǒ

idiom HSK 7 #35,239

Meanings

1 without hesitation; without thinking
2 instinctively; without a moment's thought

Characters

to borrow; to resort to

to search; to ponder

Literally 'without resorting to thinking or pondering' — here 假 is the literary word for 'to borrow/use,' not 'fake.'

Examples

她不假思索地答应了。

Tā bùjiǎ-sīsuǒ de dāying le.

She agreed without hesitation.

他不假思索地说出了答案。

Tā bùjiǎ-sīsuǒ de shuōchū le dá'àn.

He blurted out the answer without thinking.

面对危险，他不假思索地冲了上去。

Miànduì wēixiǎn, tā bùjiǎ-sīsuǒ de chōng le shàngqù.

Facing danger, he charged forward without a moment's thought.

Tips

mistakes

The 假 here is NOT 'fake' (jiǎ) but the literary meaning 'to borrow; to resort to' — same as in 假借 (jiǎjiè). So 不假思索 literally means 'without borrowing thought,' i.e. not needing to think at all. Many native speakers don't realize this classical usage.

Stroke Order

不 bù

假 jià

思 sī

索 suǒ