TongTong
Sign in

不知不觉 (bù zhī bù jué) — unconsciously, unwittingly, without realizing it

Definition

A set phrase meaning 'before one knows it' — a gradual change the speaker didn't notice. Unlike 自然而然 ('naturally, on its own'), it emphasizes the subject's lack of awareness, not an automatic process.

phrase
unconsciouslyunwittinglywithout realizing it

Examples

  • ，不知不觉。
    Shí jiān guò dé zhēn kuài, bù zhī bù jué yǐ jīng sān nián le.
    Time flies, and before we know it, three years have passed.
  • ，不知不觉。
    Tā měi tiān jiān chí duàn liàn, bù zhī bù jué shēn tǐ biàn hǎo le.
    He exercises every day, and without realizing it, his health has improved.
  • 不知不觉，。
    bù zhī bù jué, Wǒ men yǐ jīng dào le xué xiào.
    Unwittingly, we had already arrived at school.

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.

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 →

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 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 覺; 觉 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
見見jiànsee
Sound part声符shēngfú
𦥯
𦥯𦥯覺jué
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 覺 pairs 見, a part that means see, with 𦥯, a part that gives the sound; simplified 觉 is a later abbreviation.

Open 觉 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Idioms & Set Phrases

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.