人人皆知 (rén rén jiē zhī) — everyone knows; it is common knowledge

Definition

Idiomatic chengyu meaning 'known to everyone / common knowledge' — emphasizes wide, public familiarity rather than the act of learning. Use for facts, reputations, or things everyone agrees on.

verb
everyone knowsit is common knowledge

Examples

  • 人人皆知，。
    Zhè jiàn shì yǐ jīng rén rén jiē zhī, bú yòng zài duō shuō le.
    This matter is already known to everyone; there's no need to say more.
  • 人人皆知，。
    Tā de cái huá rén rén jiē zhī, suǒ yǐ gōng sī hěn kuài jiù lù yòng le tā.
    His talent is well known to all, so the company hired him quickly.
  • ，人人皆知。
    Zài zhè ge xiǎo chéng lǐ, nà jiā lǎo diàn de zhāo pai cài rén rén jiē zhī.
    In this small town, that old restaurant's signature dish is known to everyone.

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.

人人everyone
人rénperson人rénperson
皆知all know
皆jiēall知zhīknow
偏正Modifier + head

人人 gives everyone, 皆 gives all, and 知 gives know; common knowledge.

Characters in this word

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

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Open 人 →

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

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Open 人 →

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
虍虍hū
口口kǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
几
几jǐ皆jiē
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The early form 皆 used 虍 and 口 to show meaning and 几 to show sound.

Open 皆 →

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 →

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