- 岂不 qǐbù how could it not behow couldn't; wouldn't it; used to form a rhetorical question with an underlying positive meaning, similar to [[难道|難道|nan2 dao4]] ... [[不|不|bu4]]
- 岂能 qǐnéng how could(literary) how could one; how is it possible that; used in rhetorical questions to express that something is impossible or should not be done
- 岂非 qǐfēi isn't itUsed in rhetorical questions to express a strong affirmation, meaning "isn't it..." or "wouldn't it be...".
- 岂止 qǐzhǐ not onlynot only; far from; more than; used in a rhetorical tone to indicate that something is not limited to a certain number or scope
- 岂可 qǐkě how canUsed to introduce a rhetorical question to express that something is unacceptable or impossible; meaning "how can one..." or "how could it be allowed to..."
- 岂有此理 qǐyǒucǐlǐ outrageoushow can this be so; preposterous or absurd; used as an exclamation to express indignation at something unreasonable
- 岂敢 qǐgǎn how dareUsed as a rhetorical question to express that one would not dare to do something; how could one dare.
- 岂肯 qǐkěn how could one be willingUsed in rhetorical questions to express that one is absolutely unwilling to do something; how could one be willing to.
- 岂只 qǐzhǐ not onlynot only; not merely; not limited to; more than
- 岂但 qǐdàn not onlynot only; literary word used in the first part of a sentence to introduce a point that is further expanded in the next part; equivalent to [[不但|不但|bu4 dan4]]
- 岂弟君子 kǎitìjūnzǐ gentle and noble manan amiable and easy-going gentleman of high character
- 岂不是 qǐbùshì isn't itUsed in rhetorical questions to imply a strong affirmative, equivalent to "is it not" or "would it not be"
- 岂料 qǐliào unexpectedlywho would have thought that; who would have expected that
- 岂知 qǐzhī who would have thoughthow could one have known; unexpectedly; used in a rhetorical way to show that something was not anticipated
Sources
- Frequency data
- MTSU Chinese text computingSUBTLEX-CH