TongTong
Sign in

一窍不通 (yī qiào bù tōng) — to be completely ignorant (about a subject); to know absolutely nothing; to be utterly clueless

Definition

A chengyu used to say someone understands NONE of a subject — every 'hole' (窍) is blocked. Usually said about oneself or others with light, self-deprecating humor; stronger than 什么都不知道.

idiom
to be completely ignorant (about a subject)to know absolutely nothingto be utterly clueless

Examples

  • 一窍不通。
    Wǒ duì diàn nǎo biān chéng yī qiào bù tōng.
    I'm completely ignorant about computer programming.
  • ，一窍不通。
    Tā suī rán zài gōng sī gōng zuò duō nián, dàn duì cái wù yī qiào bù tōng.
    Although he has worked at the company for many years, he knows nothing about finance.
  • ，一窍不通。
    Bié wèn tā yuè lǐ wèn tí, tā yī qiào bù tōng.
    Don't ask him music theory questions — he's utterly clueless.

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.

一窍one opening
一yīone窍qiàoopening
偏正Modifier + head
不通not open
不bùnot通tōngopen
偏正Modifier + head

'一窍' means one opening, and '不通' means not open, so not one opening is clear, meaning total ignorance.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

一 is drawn as one horizontal stroke, marking the number one.

Open 一 →

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 竅; 窍 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
穴穴xuécave
Sound part声符shēngfú
敫
敫jiǎo竅qiào
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 竅 combines 穴, meaning cave, with 敫 for the sound; the simplified 窍 is a shorthand.

Open 窍 →

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辶Written in full as辵chuò
Sound part声符shēngfú
甬
甬yǒng通tōng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

通 pairs 辶, a part associated with movement, with 甬, which gives the sound.

Open 通 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set PhrasesThinking & Cognition

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