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不得而知 (bù dé ér zhī) — unable to find out; unknown; nobody knows

Definition

Set phrase meaning 'cannot be found out' or 'nobody knows' — used when the truth of something is unknowable from the speaker's position. 未知数 emphasizes a quantifiable or predictable unknown; 不得而知 stresses that no one can determine the answer.

phrase
unable to find outunknownnobody knows

Examples

  • 不得而知。
    Zhè jiàn shì de zhēn xiàng zhì jīn bù dé ér zhī.
    The truth of this matter is still unknown.
  • ，不得而知。
    Tā wèi shén me tū rán lí kāi, wǒ men bù dé ér zhī.
    Why he suddenly left, we have no way of knowing.
  • ，不得而知。
    Nà ge wèn tí de dá àn, kǒng pà bù dé ér zhī le.
    The answer to that question is probably unknowable.

Origin

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

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Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The old form 㝵 showed a hand picking up a cowry, meaning to obtain; later changes turned that picture into 得.

Open 得 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 而 is a picture of a beard.

Open 而 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

An early form of 知 showed 大 (adult), 口 (mouth), and 子 (child): an adult speaking to a child to pass on knowledge. The 子 part was dropped, and the 大 part changed shape.

Open 知 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Idioms & Set PhrasesThinking & Cognition

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