比比皆是
bǐ bǐ jiē shì · HSK 7
can be found everywhere
🐜 比比 = compare + compare, 皆是 = all are — wherever you compare, there they are
Each 比 means compare or match. Doubled for emphasis: again and again. 皆是 = all are. Everywhere you check, they show up — ubiquitous.
比 — two 匕 (person) side by side
比 is a pictograph showing two people standing side by side, facing the same direction. From this image of paired figures came the core meaning 'to compare' or 'to be next to,' since comparing things naturally involves placing them alongside each other.
比 — two 匕 (person) side by side
比 is a pictograph showing two people standing side by side, facing the same direction. From this image of paired figures came the core meaning 'to compare' or 'to be next to,' since comparing things naturally involves placing them alongside each other.
皆 — 比 (compare) on top + 白 (white/say) below
Originally a phono-semantic compound. The top element 比 (two people side by side) suggests 'together' or 'all alike,' while 白 below served as a phonetic component. Over time the meaning settled on 'all' or 'every one,' emphasizing collective inclusion.
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).