不明不白 (bù míng bù bái) — without clear reason; for no apparent reason; dubious

Definition

An idiom for a situation with no clear cause or justification — often used for unfair blame or mysterious loss. Adjectival: it takes 的 before a noun (不明不白的指责) or 地 before a verb.

idiom
without clear reasonfor no apparent reasondubious

Examples

  • 不明不白，。
    Tā bù míng bù bái dì shī zōng le, shuí dōu bù zhī dào yuán yīn.
    He disappeared for no clear reason, and nobody knows why.
  • 不明不白，。
    Zhè bǐ qián bù míng bù bái dì jiù bú jiàn le, zhēn qí guài.
    This sum of money vanished without any clear reason—really strange.
  • 不明不白，。
    Tā shòu dào bù míng bù bái de zhǐ zé, xīn lǐ hěn nán guò.
    She received an unjustified accusation and felt very sad.

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.

Open 不 →

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

明 combines 日 (sun) and 月 (moon), showing the sun just rising while the moon has not yet set, or two bright objects in the sky, to express brightness.

Open 明 →

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.

Open 不 →

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

白 is thought to picture either an acorn or a human head.

Open 白 →

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