TongTong
Sign in

未知 (wèi zhī) — unknown

Definition

A more formal/literary way to say 'unknown' — typically used as an attributive modifying a noun (e.g. 未知数, 未知因素) rather than standing alone as a predicate.

verb
unknown

Examples

  • 未知。
    Zhè ge xiàng mù de wèi zhī yīn sù tài duō le.
    There are too many unknown factors in this project.
  • 。
    Fāng chéng zhōng yǒu liǎng gè wèi zhī shù.
    There are two unknown numbers in the equation.
  • 未知。
    wèi zhī De mìng yùn ràng rén gǎn dào bù ān.
    The unknown fate makes people feel uneasy.

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.

未wèinot yet
知zhīknow

The 'not yet' sense of 未 narrows 知 to mean not known.

Characters in this word

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

The shape 未 shows a tree with extra branches spreading above its trunk, like lush, overlapping limbs.

Open 未 →

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
Abstract Concepts

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