名不见经传 (míng bú jiàn jīng zhuàn) — not well-known; obscure; lacking fame

Definition

Literally "name not seen in the classics," this idiom means a person or thing is obscure and has no recorded reputation — not just unknown, but unrecorded in any standard history.

idiom
not well-knownobscurelacking fame

Examples

  • 名不见经传，。
    Zhè wèi zuò jiā suī rán míng bú jiàn jīng zhuàn, dàn tā de zuò pǐn hěn yǒu shēn dù.
    Although this writer is not well-known, his works are very profound.
  • 名不见经传。
    Nà jiā míng bú jiàn jīng zhuàn de xiǎo diàn què zuò chū le quán chéng zuì hǎo de miàn tiáo.
    That obscure little shop makes the best noodles in the whole city.
  • 名不见经传，。
    Tā lái zì yí gè míng bú jiàn jīng zhuàn de xiǎo zhèn, què chéng le guó jì zhī míng de kē xué jiā.
    He came from an obscure small town but became an internationally renowned scientist.

Origin

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

名 puts 夕 (crescent moon) above 口 (mouth), showing a name spoken in the dark.

Open 名 →

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 見; 见 is its simplified writing.

  • 目目mùeye
  • 卩卩jiékneeling person

The traditional form 見 pairs 目 (eye) with 卩 (kneeling person), showing a kneeling figure with a large eye for a head. The simplified 见 is a later shorthand.

Open 见 →

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 經; 经 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糹Written in full as糸mìsilk; thread
Sound part声符shēngfú
巠
巠jīng經jīng
Same sound today

The traditional form 經 combines 糹 (silk; thread) with 巠, which gives the sound.

Open 经 →

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 傳; 传 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
人人rénman
Sound part声符shēngfú
專
專zhuān傳chuán
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 傳 puts 人 (man) beside 專, which gives the sound; the simplified 传 is a later shorthand, and its parts are not the historical ones.

Open 传 →

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