不可一世

bùkě-yíshì
idiom #41,246

Meanings

  1. 1 to consider oneself unrivalled in one's generation
  2. 2 insufferably arrogant
  3. 3 full of oneself

Examples

HSK 4
Tā yī déjiǎng jiù bùkěyíshì.
The moment he won the prize, he became insufferable.
HSK 6
Nà jiā gōngsī dāngnián bùkěyíshì, rújīn yǐjīng dǎobì.
That company was unrivalled in its day - now it's gone under.
HSK 6
Tā niánqīng shí bùkěyíshì, hòulái cái xuéhuì qiānxū.
He was insufferably arrogant in his youth; only later did he learn humility.

Tips

history
From Luo Dajing's Song-dynasty 《鹤林玉露》: 「荆公少年,不可一世」 - Wang Anshi (王荆公) in his youth considered no contemporary his equal. Originally neutral 'peerless'; now uniformly pejorative.
mistakes
Despite the literal 'unrivalled,' this is always negative in modern use - 'arrogant / conceited.' Compare with the positive 举世无双 ('unmatched in the world').

Stroke Order

shì