似是而非
sì shì ér fēi · HSK 7
apparently right but actually wrong
🎭 似 seems + 是 right + 而 but + 非 wrong = seems right but is wrong
Read the four characters in order: 似 (resembles) 是 (correct) 而 (yet) 非 (not). The string literally spells out resembles-correct-yet-not, i.e. looks right on the surface but is actually false.
是 — sun 日 + 正 (correct/upright)
Originally a compound suggesting 'the sun 日 directly overhead'—straight, correct, true. From this concrete sense of 'right' or 'this very thing,' 是 came to mean 'this' as a demonstrative, and later the modern copula 'to be / is.' The 'correct' meaning survives in words like 是非 (right and wrong).
而 — pictograph of beard/whiskers hanging from chin
Originally a pictograph of a beard or facial hair hanging below the chin, visible clearly in oracle bone and bronze script forms. The beard meaning was lost early, and the character was borrowed phonetically to write the grammatical conjunction 'and/but/yet'. This connective use has been standard since classical Chinese.
非 — two opposing wings 羽-like form
Originally a pictograph showing two wings spread in opposite directions, symbolizing things facing away from each other. From this 'opposition' image came the meaning 'not' or 'wrong.' It is also used as a phonetic component in many characters like 排, 悲, and 罪.