Chinese word dictionary

似是而非

sìshì-érfēi · apparently right but actually wrong; specious (idiom)

Practice word

Word information

Simplified似是而非

Traditional似是而非

Pinyinsìshì-érfēi

Part of speechGeneral

HSK 3.07-9

HSK 2.0Not listed

Character breakdown

Study each Hanzi separately, then return to the complete word so pronunciation, meaning, and movement stay connected.

似shì

resembling, similar to; as if, to seem

是shì

to be; yes

而ér

and, and then, and yet; but

非fēi

not, negative, non-; to oppose

How to learn 似是而非

Listen once without reading, repeat the pinyin with its tones, then write every character in sequence. Finally, recall the complete meaning instead of memorizing each character as an isolated translation.

When the word appears in a sentence, check whether its part of speech and meaning match the definition shown here. Chinese words can change nuance with context.

Related vocabulary

Words with the same characters

Compare how a familiar Hanzi changes meaning inside another word.

非常fēicháng

very; really; unusual; extraordinary

是shì

to be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; true; (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well; (adverb for emphatic assertion); variant of 是[shi4]

但是dànshì

but; however

还是háishi

still (as before); had better; unexpectedly; or

而且érqiě

(not only ...) but also; moreover; in addition; furthermore

可是kěshì

but; however; (used for emphasis) indeed