不可能

Chinese[edit]

		not; no	possible; probable; likely possible; probable; likely; maybe; perhaps; probably; might; may
trad. (不可能)		不	可能
simp. ^#(不可能)		不	可能

Pronunciation[edit]

Mandarin
(Pinyin): bùkěnéng

(Zhuyin): ㄅㄨˋ ㄎㄜˇ ㄋㄥˊ
Cantonese (Jyutping): bat¹ ho² nang⁴

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: bùkěnéng
  - Zhuyin: ㄅㄨˋ ㄎㄜˇ ㄋㄥˊ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: bùkěnéng
  - Wade–Giles: pu⁴-kʻo³-nêng²
  - Yale: bù-kě-néng
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: bukeeneng
  - Palladius: букэнэн (bukɛnɛn)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /pu⁵¹ kʰɤ²¹⁴⁻²¹ nɤŋ³⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: bat¹ ho² nang⁴
  - Yale: bāt hó nàhng
  - Cantonese Pinyin: bat⁷ ho² nang⁴
  - Guangdong Romanization: bed¹ ho² neng⁴
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /pɐt̚⁵ hɔː³⁵ nɐŋ²¹/

Adjective[edit]

不可能

impossible
沒有什麼不可能。 [MSC, trad.]
没有什么不可能。 [MSC, simp.]
Méiyǒu shénme bù kěnéng. [Pinyin]
Nothing is impossible.

Synonyms[edit]

Dialectal synonyms of 不可能 (“impossible”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		不可能
Mandarin	Taiwan	不可能
	Malaysia	不可能
	Singapore	不可能
Cantonese	Hong Kong	冇可能
Cantonese	Singapore (Guangfu)	冇可能
Hakka	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	無可能
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	無可能
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	無可能
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	無可能
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	無可能
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	無可能
	Singapore (Dabu)	無可能
Southern Min	Penang (Hokkien)	無可能
	Singapore (Hokkien)	無可能
	Singapore (Teochew)	無可能

Derived terms[edit]

不可能事件 (bùkěnéng shìjiàn)
阿羅不可能定理／阿罗不可能定理

Descendants[edit]

Sino-Xenic (不可能):

→ Japanese: 不(ふ)可(か)能(のう) (fukanō)
→ Korean: 불가능(不可能) (bulganeung)

Japanese[edit]

Kanji in this term
不	可	能
ふ Grade: 4	か Grade: 5	のう Grade: 5
goon

Etymology[edit]

Ultimately from Middle Chinese compound 不可能 (pjuw kha^Xnong, literally “not possible”).

First cited in Natsume Soseki's works in 1905.^[1] The positive term 可能 (kanō, “possible”) isn't cited until a few years later in 1909. However, the related term 可能性 (kanōsei, “possibility”) is cited earlier in 1881, in the 哲学字彙 (Tetsugaku Jii, “Philosophy Dictionary”) compiled by Inoue Tetsujirō,^[2]^[3] suggesting that the terms 不可能 (fukanō) and 可能 (kanō) may have been in use earlier than first cited.

Pronunciation[edit]

(Tokyo) ふかのー [fùkáꜜnòò] (Nakadaka – [2])^[4]^[5]^[6]
IPA^(key): [ɸɯ̟̊ᵝka̠no̞ː]

Adjective[edit]

不(ふ)可(か)能(のう) • (fukanō) -na (adnominal 不(ふ)可(か)能(のう)な (fukanō na), adverbial 不(ふ)可(か)能(のう)に (fukanō ni))

[from 1905] impossible
雪(ゆき)道(みち)で間(ま)に合(あ)うのは不(ふ)可(か)能(のう)だ。
Yukimichi de maniau no wa fukanō da.
With the roads snowy, it is impossible to get there in time.

あのチームが優(ゆう)勝(しょう)するなんて不(ふ)可(か)能(のう)な出(で)来(き)事(ごと)だ。
Ano chīmu ga yūshō suru nante fukanō na dekigoto da.
It's impossible for that team to win the title.

Inflection[edit]

Inflection of 不可能

Stem forms
Imperfective (未然形)	不可能だろ	ふかのうだろ	fukanō daro
Continuative (連用形)	不可能で	ふかのうで	fukanō de
Terminal (終止形)	不可能だ	ふかのうだ	fukanō da
Attributive (連体形)	不可能な	ふかのうな	fukanō na
Hypothetical (仮定形)	不可能なら	ふかのうなら	fukanō nara
Imperative (命令形)	不可能であれ	ふかのうであれ	fukanō de are
Key constructions
Informal negative	不可能ではない不可能じゃない	ふかのうではないふかのうじゃない	fukanō de wa nai fukanō ja nai
Informal past	不可能だった	ふかのうだった	fukanō datta
Informal negative past	不可能ではなかった不可能じゃなかった	ふかのうではなかったふかのうじゃなかった	fukanō de wa nakatta fukanō ja nakatta
Formal	不可能です	ふかのうです	fukanō desu
Formal negative	不可能ではありません不可能じゃありません	ふかのうではありませんふかのうじゃありません	fukanō de wa arimasen fukanō ja arimasen
Formal past	不可能でした	ふかのうでした	fukanō deshita
Formal negative past	不可能ではありませんでした不可能じゃありませんでした	ふかのうではありませんでしたふかのうじゃありませんでした	fukanō de wa arimasen deshita fukanō ja arimasen deshita
Conjunctive	不可能で	ふかのうで	fukanō de
Conditional	不可能なら（ば）	ふかのうなら（ば）	fukanō nara (ba)
Provisional	不可能だったら	ふかのうだったら	fukanō dattara
Volitional	不可能だろう	ふかのうだろう	fukanō darō
Adverbial	不可能に	ふかのうに	fukanō ni
Degree	不可能さ	ふかのうさ	fukanōsa

Synonyms[edit]

無(む)理(り) (muri), 不(ふ)能(のう) (funō), 出(で)来(き)ない (dekinai); 有(あ)り得(え)ない (arienai)

Antonyms[edit]

可(か)能(のう) (kanō, “possible”), 出(で)来(き)る (dekiru), 有(あ)り得(う)る (ariuru)
不(ふ)可(か)避(ひ) (fukahi, “inevitable”), 必(ひつ)然(ぜん)的(てき) (hitsuzenteki, “inevitable”), 確(かく)実(じつ) (kakujitsu, “certain”)

Noun[edit]

不(ふ)可(か)能(のう) • (fukanō)

impossibility, that which is impossible
不(ふ)可(か)能(のう)を可(か)能(のう)にする
fukanō o kanō ni suru
to make the impossible possible

Antonyms[edit]

可(か)能(のう) (kanō, “possibility”); 必(ひつ)然(ぜん) (hitsuzen, “inevitability”), 確(かく)実(じつ) (kakujitsu, “certainty”)

References[edit]

^ “不可能”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”)‎^[1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000
^ “可能性”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”)‎^[2] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000
^ Inoue, Tetsujirō (1881) 哲学字彙‎^[3], University of Tokyo, page 68
^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK Publishing, →ISBN
^ Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

Korean[edit]

Hanja in this term
不	可	能

Noun[edit]

不可能 • (bulganeung) (hangeul 불가능)

Hanja form^? of 불가능 (“impossibility”).

[KDJ2-1] “不可能”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”)‎^[1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000

[2] “可能性”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”)‎^[2] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000

[3] Inoue, Tetsujirō (1881) 哲学字彙‎^[3], University of Tokyo, page 68

[DJR-4] Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[NHK-5] NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK Publishing, →ISBN

[SMK5-6] Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

不可能

Contents

Chinese[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

Synonyms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

Japanese[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

Inflection[edit]

Synonyms[edit]

Antonyms[edit]

Noun[edit]

Antonyms[edit]

References[edit]

Korean[edit]

Noun[edit]

Navigation menu

不可能

Chinese[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

Synonyms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

Japanese[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

Inflection[edit]

Synonyms[edit]

Antonyms[edit]

Noun[edit]

Antonyms[edit]

References[edit]

Korean[edit]

Noun[edit]

Navigation menu

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