不假思索

bùjiǎ-sīsuǒ

idiom HSK 7-9 #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 bùjiǎsīsuǒ de dāying le.

She agreed without hesitation.

他不假思索地说出了答案。

Tā bùjiǎsīsuǒ de shuō chū 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 bùjiǎsīsuǒ 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 jiǎ

思 sī

索 suǒ