不明覺厲

Chinese

		not; no	clear; bright; to understand clear; bright; to understand; next; the Ming dynasty	feel; find that; thinking feel; find that; thinking; awake; aware; a nap; a sleep	severe
trad. (不明覺厲)		不	明	覺	厲
simp. (不明觉厉)		不	明	觉	厉
Literally: “don't understand, feels awesome”.

Etymology

From the following phrase:

雖然不明白你在說什麼，但是聽起來感覺很厲害的樣子。 [MSC, trad.]
虽然不明白你在说什么，但是听起来感觉很厉害的样子。 [MSC, simp.]

Suīrán bù míngbai nǐ zài shuō shénme, dànshì tīng qǐlái gǎnjué hěn lìhài de yàngzǐ. [Pinyin]

Although I don't understand what you are saying, I think it sounds very awesome.

Shortened to make it resemble a genuine Chinese chengyu (idiom).

Made popular by a compilation of Internet neologisms posted on Sina Weibo on June 16, 2013.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): bùmíngjuélì

  (Zhuyin): ㄅㄨˋ ㄇㄧㄥˊ ㄐㄩㄝˊ ㄌㄧˋ

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: bùmíngjuélì
    • Zhuyin: ㄅㄨˋ ㄇㄧㄥˊ ㄐㄩㄝˊ ㄌㄧˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: bùmíngjyuélì
    • Wade–Giles: pu⁴-ming²-chüeh²-li⁴
    • Yale: bù-míng-jywé-lì
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: bumingjyuelih
    • Palladius: буминцзюэли (buminczjueli)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pu⁵¹ miŋ³⁵ t͡ɕy̯ɛ³⁵ li⁵¹/

Phrase

不明覺厲

1. (Mainland China, neologism, Internet slang) Although I don't know what you are saying or doing, I think you are (or it is) amazing.