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天知道 (tiān zhī dào) — (idiom) God/Heaven knows; used to express that something is completely unknown, unpredictable, or hard to understand

Definition

An idiom meaning 'God/Heaven knows' — used to throw up your hands at something unknowable, unpredictable, or impossible to explain.

idiom
God/Heaven knowsused to express that something is completely unknown, unpredictable, or hard to understand

Examples

  • ，天知道！
    Zhè cì kǎo shì huì bú huì guò, tiān zhī dào!
    Whether I'll pass this exam — God only knows!
  • 天知道。
    tiān zhī dào Tā wèi shén me tū rán shēng qì le.
    Heaven knows why he suddenly got angry.
  • ，天知道。
    Tā men shén me shí hou huí lái, tiān zhī dào.
    When they'll be back — who knows.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

天tiānheaven
知道know
知zhīknow道dàoknow
联合Coordinate

天 heaven and 知道 know combine to mean that only heaven knows.

Characters in this word

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
大大dà
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng天tiān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape comes from a frontal standing man 大 with a head; 天 pairs 大 with 丁 for sound.

Open 天 →

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 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
行行xíngstreet
止止zhǐfoot
Sound part声符shēngfú
𩠐
首shǒu道dào
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

Early 道 showed a street 行, a foot 止, and a part written 首 or 𩠐; the right part of 行 later disappeared.

Open 道 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set Phrases

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