岂有此理 qǐ yǒu cǐ lǐ How can this be?

Explanation

指别人言行或事物荒谬、不合道理。

Used to express that someone's words or actions, or something is absurd and unreasonable.

Origin Story

话说唐朝年间，一位名叫李明的书生，为了考取功名，苦读诗书，终日埋头苦读。一日，他突然发现自己家里竟然养了一只神龟，神龟告诉李明，只要他付出一些代价，就可以得到天下最宝贵的宝物。李明兴奋不已，立刻答应了神龟的要求，并愿意付出任何代价。然而，神龟只是要求李明在接下来的三天里，不要说话，也不要外出，更不要读书。李明虽然有些不解，但还是答应了神龟的要求。 三天后，神龟再次出现，并告诉李明，它已经完成了任务，李明可以得到天下最宝贵的宝物了。李明迫不及待地询问神龟，到底是什么宝物，神龟却只是笑着说：“你三天内没有说话，也没有读书，你已经获得了最宝贵的财富。”李明听了神龟的话，心想：“难道这三天不说话，不读书，就是天下最宝贵的宝物吗？” 此时，李明的内心充满了疑惑，他觉得这似乎有些荒谬，于是就问神龟：“这三天不说话，不读书，究竟有什么道理？岂有此理？”神龟听了李明的话，只是淡淡一笑，便消失不见了。 李明此时才明白，神龟之所以要求他三天不说话，不读书，是因为它希望李明能够静下心来，思考人生，而不是一味地追求功名利禄。李明从此以后，便不再执着于功名利禄，而是把心思放在了修身养性，追求内心的平静上，最终成为了一个德高望重的长者。

huì shuō táng cháo nián jiān, yī wèi míng jiào lǐ míng de shū shēng, wèi le kǎo qǔ gōng míng, kǔ dú shī shū, zhōng rì mái tóu kǔ dú. yī rì, tā túrán fā xiàn zì jǐ jiā lǐ jìngrán yǎng le yī zhī shén guī, shén guī gàosu lǐ míng, zhǐ yào tā fù chū yī xiē dài jià, jiù kě yǐ dé dào tiān xià zuì bǎo guì de bǎo wù. lǐ míng xīng fèn bù yǐ, lì kè dā yìng le shén guī de yāo qiú, bìng yuàn yì fù chū rè hé dài jià. rán ér, shén guī zhǐ shì yāo qiú lǐ míng zài jiē xià lái de sān tiān lǐ, bù yào shuō huà, yě bù yào wài chū, gèng bù yào dú shū. lǐ míng suīrán yǒu xiē bù jiě, dàn shì hái shì dā yìng le shén guī de yāo qiú. sān tiān hòu, shén guī zài cì chuán xiàn, bìng gàosu lǐ míng, tā yǐ jīng wán chéng le rèn wù, lǐ míng kě yǐ dé dào tiān xià zuì bǎo guì de bǎo wù le. lǐ míng pò jí bù dài de xún wèn shén guī, dào dǐ shì shén me bǎo wù, shén guī què zhǐ shì xiào zhe shuō: “nǐ sān tiān nèi méi yǒu shuō huà, yě méi yǒu dú shū, nǐ yǐ jīng huò dé le zuì bǎo guì de cái fú.” lǐ míng tīng le shén guī de huà, xīn xiǎng: “nán dào zhè sān tiān bù shuō huà, bù dú shū, jiù shì tiān xià zuì bǎo guì de bǎo wù ma?” cǐ shí, lǐ míng de nèi xīn chōng mǎn le yí huò, tā jué de zhè sì hū yǒu xiē háng miù, yú shì jiù wèn shén guī: “zhè sān tiān bù shuō huà, bù dú shū, jìu jìng yǒu shén me dào lǐ? qǐ yǒu cǐ lǐ?” shén guī tīng le lǐ míng de huà, zhǐ shì dàn dàn yī xiào, biàn xiāo shī bù jiàn le. lǐ míng cǐ shí cái míng bai, shén guī zhī suǒ yǐ yāo qiú tā sān tiān bù shuō huà, bù dú shū, shì yīn wèi tā xī wàng lǐ míng néng gòu jìng xià xīn lái, sī kǎo rén shēng, ér bù shì yī wèi de zhuī qiú gōng míng lì lù. lǐ míng cóng cǐ yǐ hòu, biàn bù zài zhí zhuó yú gōng míng lì lù, ér shì bǎ xīn sī fàng zài le xiū shēn yǎng xìng, zhuī qiú nèi xīn de píng jìng shàng, zhōng jiū chéng wéi le yī gè dé gāo wàng zhòng de zhǎng zhě.

During the Tang Dynasty, a scholar named Li Ming, in order to gain fame and fortune, spent all his time reading books. One day, he suddenly found that his family had raised a magical turtle. The turtle told Li Ming that as long as he paid a price, he could get the most valuable treasure in the world. Li Ming was overjoyed and immediately agreed to the turtle's request, and was willing to pay any price. However, the turtle only asked Li Ming not to speak, not to go out, and not to read for the next three days. Although Li Ming was a little puzzled, he still agreed to the turtle's request. After three days, the turtle appeared again and told Li Ming that it had completed the task and Li Ming could get the most valuable treasure in the world. Li Ming couldn't wait to ask the turtle what the treasure was, but the turtle only smiled and said,

Usage

这个成语多用于表达惊讶、愤怒或不理解时，表示对方言行或事物荒谬，不合道理。

zhè ge chéng yǔ duō yòng yú biǎo dá jīng yà, fèn nù huò bù lí jiě shí, biǎo shì duì fāng yán xíng huò shì wù háng miù, bù hé dào lǐ.

This idiom is often used to express surprise, anger, or incomprehension when someone's words or actions are absurd and unreasonable.

Examples

• 你竟然说这种话，岂有此理！

  qǐ yǒu cǐ lǐ!

  How dare you say such a thing!

• 他竟然敢这样做，岂有此理！

  qǐ yǒu cǐ lǐ!

  How dare he do that!

Related Idioms

• 莫名其妙

• 不可思议

Opposite Idioms

• 合情合理

• 天经地义