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无可奉告 (wú kě fèng gào) — no comment (formal, official reply, declining to provide information)

Definition

A formal idiom used by officials, spokespeople, or authorities when they officially refuse to answer questions — much stiffer and more public-facing than a casual 'I don't know' or 'no reply'.

idiom
no comment (formal, official reply, declining to provide information)

Examples

  • ，无可奉告。
    Guān yú zhè ge wèn tí, wǒ men wú kě fèng gào.
    Regarding this issue, we have no comment.
  • ，：“，无可奉告。”
    Dāng bèi wèn dào mǐn gǎn huà tí shí, tā jù jué huí dá: "duì bu qǐ, wú kě fèng gào."
    When asked a sensitive topic, he refused to answer: 'Sorry, no comment.'
  • 无可奉告，。
    Zhèng fǔ guān yuán duì diào chá jié guǒ wú kě fèng gào, yǐn qǐ le gèng duō cāi cè.
    The government official had no comment on the investigation results, which sparked more speculation.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

无可no way
无wúno可kěcan
偏正Modifier + head
奉告tell respectfully
奉fèngrespectfully告gàotell
偏正Modifier + head

无可 conveys no way to, and 奉告 conveys respectful telling; together it says there is nothing that can be told.

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 →

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
口口kǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
丂
丂kǎo可kě
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

可 pairs 口 (mouth) with 丂 as a sound part; it is tied to air from the mouth, perhaps singing.

Open 可 →

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
廾廾gǒngtwo hands
Sound part声符shēngfú
丰
丰fēng奉fèng
Same sound today

奉 pairs 丰 for the pronunciation with 廾, 'two hands', as the meaning part.

Open 奉 →

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

The origin is unclear: one theory sees 告 as 壴 (a decorated drum) above 口 (an open mouth), while another sees a tongue sticking out of 口.

Open 告 →
Appears in
HSK 2.0 Level 6Communication & SpeechIdioms & Set Phrases

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