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知之甚少 (zhī zhī shèn shǎo) — to know very little about something; to have scant knowledge of something

Definition

A formal set phrase meaning 'to know very little about something,' used in writing. Note the literary 之: in this phrase it stands in for the topic ('of it / of that'), and the whole idiom is a fixed chunk — do not swap characters.

verb
to know very little about somethingto have scant knowledge of something

Examples

  • 知之甚少。
    Wǒ duì zhè ge wèn tí zhī zhī shèn shǎo.
    I know very little about this problem.
  • ，知之甚少。
    Guān yú nà jiàn shì, wǒ zhī zhī shèn shǎo.
    Regarding that matter, I know very little.
  • ，知之甚少。
    Tā gāng xué zhōng wén, duì zhōng guó de wén huà zhī zhī shèn shǎo.
    He just started learning Chinese, so he knows very little about Chinese culture.

Origin

Characters in this word

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 →

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

The shape pairs 止, a foot, with 一, a beginning place, and means to go.

Open 之 →

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

甚 combines 甘 and 匕. The evidence gives no meaning for either part.

Open 甚 →

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

The form 少 is drawn as four dots, perhaps three grains of sand, to indicate a few or a little.

Open 少 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set PhrasesThinking & Cognition

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