似是而非 (sì shì ér fēi)

Character breakdown

• 似 (shì) · 6 strokes

  Phonosemantic compound. 亻 represents the meaning and 以 represents the sound.

• 是 (shì) · 9 strokes

  Origin unclear. The bottom component 止 represents the sound.

• 而 (ér) · 6 strokes

  Originally a pictograph of a beard, now written as 耏. The current use as a conjunction is a phonetic loan.

• 非 (Fēi) · 8 strokes

  Depicts two people facing opposite directions.

Usage

他那套理论听起来头头是道，其实全是似是而非的谬论。

His theory sounds plausible at first, but it's actually full of specious fallacies.

Tā nà tào lǐ lùn tīng qǐ lai tóu tóu shì dào, qí shí quán shì sì shì ér fēi de miù lùn.