岂有此理
qǐ yoǔ cǐ lǐ · HSK 7
absurd
🙅 岂有此理 = how (岂) + there-is (有) + this (此) + reason (理): how can there be such reasoning?
A four-word complaint: 岂 marks an indignant how-could-it-be, 有此 means there-is-this, and 理 is reason or logic. Strung together it protests that no sane logic could allow such a thing, so it lands as preposterous or absurd.
有 — hand 𠂇 + moon/meat 月
Originally depicted a hand holding a piece of meat (月 here is the 'meat' radical, not moon), expressing the idea of possessing something. Over time the meaning broadened from 'to hold/possess' to the general sense of 'to have' or 'there is/exists'.
此 — foot 止 + spoon/person 匕
此 originally depicted a person (匕) standing with a foot (止), suggesting 'to stop here' or 'this place.' Over time the meaning generalized from a specific location to the demonstrative pronoun 'this.' The foot component still hints at the original sense of standing in a particular spot.
理 — jade radical 玉/王 + village 里 (phonetic)
理 is a semantic-phonetic compound: the jade radical 王 (玉) on the left signals meaning, while 里 on the right gives the sound. It originally meant the natural veins or grain in a piece of jade, then extended to 'pattern,' 'order,' 'principle,' and finally the modern senses 'reason' and 'to manage.'