知其不可而為

See also: 知其不可而为

Chinese

		to know; to be aware	his; her; its his; her; its; theirs; that; such; it (refers to something preceding it)	cannot; should not; must not	and; as well as; but (not) and; as well as; but (not); yet (not); (shows causal relation); (shows change of state); (shows contrast)	because of; for; to because of; for; to; act as; take...to be; to be; to do; to serve as; to become
trad. (知其不可而為/知其不可而爲)		知	其	不可	而	為/爲
simp. (知其不可而为)		知	其	不可	而	为

Etymology

From the Analects, Book 14 (《論語·憲問》):

子路宿於石門。晨門曰：「奚自？」子路曰：「自孔氏。」曰：「是知其不可而為之者與？」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

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子路宿于石门。晨门曰：「奚自？」子路曰：「自孔氏。」曰：「是知其不可而为之者与？」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

Zǐlù sù yú Shímén. Chén mén yuē: “Xī zì?” Zǐlù yuē: “Zì Kǒng shì.” Yuē: “Shì zhī qí bùkě ér wéi zhī zhě yú?” [Pinyin]

Zilu happening to pass the night in Shi Men, the gatekeeper said to him, "Whom do you come from?" Zi Lu said, "From Mr. Kong." "It is he, is it not?" said the other, "who knows the impracticable nature of the times and yet will be doing in them."

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): zhī qí bùkě ér wéi

  (Zhuyin): ㄓ ㄑㄧˊ ㄅㄨˋ ㄎㄜˇ ㄦˊ ㄨㄟˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): zi¹ kei⁴ bat¹ ho² ji⁴ wai⁴

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: zhī qí bùkě ér wéi
    • Zhuyin: ㄓ ㄑㄧˊ ㄅㄨˋ ㄎㄜˇ ㄦˊ ㄨㄟˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: jhih cí bùkě ér wéi
    • Wade–Giles: chih¹ chʻi² pu⁴-kʻo³ êrh² wei²
    • Yale: jr̄ chí bù-kě ér wéi
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jy chyi bukee erl wei
    • Palladius: чжи ци букэ эр вэй (čži ci bukɛ er vɛj)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ t͡ɕʰi³⁵ pu⁵¹ kʰɤ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ˀɤɻ³⁵ weɪ̯³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: zi¹ kei⁴ bat¹ ho² ji⁴ wai⁴
    • Yale: jī kèih bāt hó yìh wàih
    • Cantonese Pinyin: dzi¹ kei⁴ bat⁷ ho² ji⁴ wai⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: ji¹ kéi⁴ bed¹ ho² yi⁴ wei⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡siː⁵⁵ kʰei̯²¹ pɐt̚⁵ hɔː³⁵ jiː²¹ wɐi̯²¹/

Idiom

知其不可而為

1. to (stubbornly) do something even though you know it is impossible; to understand the difficulty of a feat but to attempt it anyway because it is the right thing to do (e.g. strive to eliminate world hunger)

Synonyms

• 知其不可而為之／知其不可而为之 (zhīqíbùkě'érwéizhī)
• 知其不可為而為之／知其不可为而为之 (zhīqíbùkěwéi'érwéizhī)