知其不可而为之

to keep going resolutely despite knowing the task is impossible (idiom)

Characters and words in 知其不可而为之

to know / to be aware

= + : Mnemonic symbol: Francis Bacon is attributed to have stated "scientia potentia est", "knowledge is power". I'll thus represent 知 by Francis Bacon. Francis Bacon (知) and James II of England (zh) are playing darts (矢) in front of the space station (Ø1). Because they lack a dart board they just use a mandarin (口).
his / her / its / their / that / such / it (refers to sth preceding it)

= + : Looks like a watchtower. The Queen of Hearts is on lookout on the watchtower just inside the space station's entrance. The Eye of Providence helps her to look out for intruders. They also spread some eight balls for possible intruders to trip on.
no; not so / (bound form) not; un-

= + : Bruno Bear (bu) is setting up a wind wheel (丆) with a voodoo staff (卜) in the space station's bathroom (Ø4). He also puts a "forbidden" sign (mnemonic symbol for 不) on it, to make clear that it may not (不) be stopped.
cannot / should not / must not
cannot; should not; must not
can / may / able to / to approve / to permit / to suit / (particle used for emphasis) certainly / very

= + : Karl Marx (k) is challenging his abilities (可) in the elevator's living room (e3). He tries to force a nail (丁) into a mandarin (口), just by using his head. On top of that he tries to do so one thousand times, in order to create a bed of nails (mnemonic symbol for 可).

= + : Alternative mnemonic symbol: kebab, from the pronunciation "ke". Karl Marx (k) is preparing a kebab (mnemonic symbol for 可) in the elevator's living room (e3). He also skewers mandarins (口) on the long steel nails (丁) and will only allow (可) his guests to eat the rest of the kebab if they eat their mandarins first.
used in 可汗[ke4 han2]
and / as well as / and so / but (not) / yet (not) / (indicates causal relation) / (indicates change of state) / (indicates contrast)

= 𦉫 + : A comb. Albert Einstein is getting ready to go out just inside the entrance of the space station. He put up some loud music on the stereo and tries to comb his hair with his comb and the help of a wind wheel.
as (in the capacity of) / to take sth as / to act as / to serve as / to behave as / to become / to be / to do / by (in the passive voice)
because of / for / to

= + : This one looks like a bird with crazy hair, and when I googled "bird with crazy hair", wow was I amazed how many birds with crazy hair there are! Penguins are birds with crazy hair! So let's use a penguin for this character.

= + : The crazy hair penguin wants to use the Eiffel Tower's bathroom, but because Willy Walrus just finished it stinks like hell. The first thing crazy hair penguin does is to press the button to release a heap of blossoms to make the air breathable again.
variant of 為|为[wei2] / as (i.e. in the capacity of) / to take sth as / to act as / to serve as / to behave as / to become / to be / to do
variant of 為|为[wei4]
variant of 為|为[wei2]
(possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de5]) / him / her / it

= + Z : Mnemonic symbol: Sooo sleepy... "zZz" (the character looks like a "Z"). James II of England (zh) fell asleep in front of the space station (Ø1). He sleeps on a big petal leaf (丶), making loud "zZz" (之) sounds.

Words with 知其不可而为之

知其不可而为之 is not used as a component in another word.

Sentences with 知其不可而为之

知其不可而为之 currently does not appear in any sentence.