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不知其几千里也

不知其幾千里也
bùzhīqíjǐqiānlǐyě
phrase

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

站在海边远眺，海天一色，真是不知其几千里也。
Zhàn zài hǎi biān yuǎn tiào, hǎi tiān yī sè, zhēn shì 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.'
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.

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