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无知 (wú zhī) — ignorant

Definition

无知 focuses on lacking knowledge or awareness of facts, often used to criticize someone's understanding. Stronger and more judgmental than 盲目 (acting without awareness); less severe than 愚昧 (which implies deep backwardness).

adjective
ignorant

Examples

  • 无知，。
    Tā hěn wú zhī, lián zhè ge jī běn cháng shí dōu bù zhī dào.
    He is so ignorant that he doesn't even know this basic common sense.
  • 无知。
    Zhè zhǒng wú zhī de xíng wéi ràng rén wú fǎ lǐ jiě.
    This kind of ignorant behavior is incomprehensible.
  • 无知。
    Bú yào yīn wèi zì jǐ wú zhī jiù cháo xiào bié rén.
    Don't laugh at others just because you are ignorant.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

无wúhave no
知zhīknowledge

无 means have no and 知 means knowledge, so it conveys ignorance.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 無; 无 is its simplified writing.

For the simplified 无, the story is about 無. 無 drew a person dancing with ox tails held in both hands to pray for rain, then was borrowed for 'have no', so the picture does not explain that meaning.

Open 无 →

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 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Personality & Traits

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