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不知其几千里也

不知其幾千里也
bù zhī qí jǐ qiān lǐ yě
quotation

Meanings

  1. 1 none knows how many thousand li (miles) it extends
  2. 2 (fig.) something immeasurably vast, beyond reckoning - the Zhuangzian scale
  3. 3 (lit.) not know its how-many thousand li (final particle)

Examples

HSK 6
这个项目的潜力不知其几千里也，前景广阔。
Zhège xiàngmù de qiánlì bù zhī qí jǐ qiān lǐ yě, qiánjǐng guǎngkuò.
This project's potential is 'beyond measure in thousands of li' - the prospects are vast.
HSK 7-9
站在海边远眺，海天一色，真是不知其几千里也。
Zhàn zài hǎibiān yuǎntiào, hǎi tiān yì sè, zhēnshì bù zhī qí jǐ qiān lǐ yě.
Standing on the shore gazing out, sea and sky one color - truly 'none knows how many thousand li it stretches.'

Tips

history
From 《庄子·逍遥游》 opening (Zhuangzi, 'Free and Easy Wandering,' Warring States, c. 300 BCE): 北冥有鱼，其名为鲲。鲲之大，不知其几千里也 (In the Northern Ocean there is a fish called Kun. Kun is so vast that nobody knows how many thousand li it measures). The fish then transforms into the Peng bird and soars south - the founding image of Daoist cosmic perspective.
usage
也 is a classical final particle marking assertion (not 'also'). Reading: 几 = jǐ ('how many'), 3rd tone. Usually quoted in context with 鲲之大 or 其翼若垂天之云. A stock phrase for boundless scale.

Stroke Order

不 bù
知 zhī
其 qí
几 jǐ
千 qiān
里 lǐ
也 yě