不知

Chinese

		not; no	to know; to be aware
simp. and trad. (不知)		不	知

Pronunciation

[Show/Hide]
edit edit 不支 不知

Rime
Character	不	不	不	知
Reading #	1/3	2/3	3/3	1/1
Initial (聲)	幫 (1)	幫 (1)	幫 (1)	知 (9)
Final (韻)	尤 (136)	尤 (136)	物 (60)	支 (11)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)	Rising (X)	Checked (Ø)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open	Closed	Open
Division (等)	III	III	III	III
Fanqie	甫鳩切	方久切	分勿切	陟移切
Baxter	pjuw	pjuwX	pjut	trje
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/pɨu/	/pɨuX/	/pɨut̚/	/ʈiᴇ/
Pan Wuyun	/piu/	/piuX/	/piut̚/	/ʈiɛ/
Shao Rongfen	/piəu/	/piəuX/	/piuət̚/	/ȶjɛ/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/puw/	/puwX/	/put̚/	/ʈiə̆/
Li Rong	/piu/	/piuX/	/piuət̚/	/ȶie/
Wang Li	/pĭəu/	/pĭəuX/	/pĭuət̚/	/ȶǐe/
Bernhard Karlgren	/pi̯ə̯u/	/pi̯ə̯uX/	/pi̯uət̚/	/ȶie̯/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	fōu	fǒu	fu	zhī
Expected Cantonese Reflex	fau1	fau2	fat1	zi1

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	不	知
Reading #	1/2	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	bù	zhī
Middle Chinese	‹ pjuw ›	‹ trje ›
Old Chinese	/*pə/	/*tre/
English	not	know
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	不	不	不	知
Reading #	1/3	2/3	3/3	1/1
No.	1025	1029	1048	11495
Phonetic component	不	不	不	矢
Rime group	之	之	物	支
Rime subdivision	0	0	1	0
Corresponding MC rime	不	缶	弗
Old Chinese	/*pɯ/	/*pɯʔ/	/*pɯ'/	/*ʔl'e/
Notes		象花柎與本同源	中古才促化	沈兼士依韻會所引說文從口矢聲

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): bùzhī

  (Zhuyin): ㄅㄨˋ ㄓ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): bat¹ zi¹
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): put-tî
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): put-ti

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)
    • Hanyu Pinyin: bùzhī
    • Zhuyin: ㄅㄨˋ ㄓ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: bùjhih
    • Wade–Giles: pu⁴-chih¹
    • Yale: bù-jr̄
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: bujy
    • Palladius: бучжи (bučži)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pu⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵/
    • Homophones:
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: bat¹ zi¹
    • Yale: bāt jī
    • Cantonese Pinyin: bat⁷ dzi¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: bed¹ ji¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pɐt̚⁵ t͡siː⁵⁵/
    • Homophones:

      edit edit 不支 不知

• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: put-tî
    • Hakka Romanization System: bud^ˋ di^ˊ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: bud⁵ di¹
    • Sinological IPA: /put̚² ti²⁴/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: put-ti
    • Tâi-lô: put-ti
    • Phofsit Daibuun: putdy
    • IPA (Xiamen): /put̚³²⁻⁴ ti⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /put̚⁵⁻²⁴ ti³³/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /put̚³²⁻⁵ ti⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Taipei): /put̚³²⁻⁴ ti⁴⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /put̚³²⁻⁴ ti⁴⁴/

---

• Middle Chinese: pjuw|pjuwX|pjut trje

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*pə  tre/

  (Zhengzhang): /*pɯ|pɯʔ|pɯ'  ʔl'e/

Verb

不知

1. to not know; to have no idea of; to be ignorant of

   不知其中奧妙／不知其中奥妙  ―  bùzhī qízhōng àomiào  ―  to be ignorant of the marvels therein

   犯錯後還不知悔改 [MSC, trad.]
   犯错后还不知悔改 [MSC, simp.]

   fàncuò hòu hái bùzhī huǐgǎi [Pinyin]

   to not mend one's ways after making a mistake

   唉，我不知何時再能與他相見。 [MSC, trad.]
   唉，我不知何时再能与他相见。 [MSC, simp.]

   Ài, wǒ bùzhī héshí zài néng yǔ tā xiàngjiàn. [Pinyin]

   Alas, I do not know when I will see him again.

2. to wonder if (as used in a question or request)

   不知您是否有時間。 [MSC, trad.]
   不知您是否有时间。 [MSC, simp.]

   Bùzhī nín shìfǒu yǒu shíjiān. [Pinyin]

   I wonder if you might have time.

Synonyms

• (to not know):

edit

• 不了解 (bù liǎojiě)
• 不懂 (bùdǒng)
• 不明 (bùmíng) (literary)
• 不曉得 / 不晓得 (bù xiǎodé)
• 不知道 (bù zhīdào)
• 不解 (bùjiě)
• 不通 (bùtōng)
• 伓知 (Puxian Min)
• 唔知 (Cantonese)
• 曉不得 / 晓不得
• 𣍐仈 / 𫧃仈 (mâ̤-báik) (Eastern Min)
• 毋知 (Hakka, Hokkien)
• 毋知影 (Hokkien, Teochew)
• 母雞 / 母鸡 (mǔjī) (slang, neologism, humorous)

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “to not know”):

edit

• 了解 (liǎojiě)
• 佔有 / 占有 (zhànyǒu)
• 分曉 / 分晓 (fēnxiǎo)
• 參悟 / 参悟 (cānwù)
• 悟 (wù) (literary, or in compounds)
• 懂 (dǒng)
• 懂得 (dǒngde)
• 打生 (Wenzhounese)
• 把握 (bǎwò)
• 掌握 (zhǎngwò)
• 明 (ming⁴) (Cantonese)
• 明白
• 明瞭 / 明了 (míngliǎo)
• 曉得 / 晓得 (xiǎode)
• 會悟 / 会悟 (huìwù) (literary)
• 洞悉 (dòngxī)
• 清亮 (mainland China)
• 清楚
• 熟似 (Hokkien)
• 熟悉 (shúxī)
• 熟稔 (shúrěn) (literary)
• 熟識 / 熟识 (shúshí)
• 理會 / 理会 (lǐhuì)
• 理解 (lǐjiě)
• 瞭悟 / 了悟 (liǎowù) (literary)
• 知影 (Hokkien, Teochew)
• 知悉 (zhīxī) (literary)
• 知曉 / 知晓 (zhīxiǎo)
• 知識 / 知识 (zhīshí) (literary)
• 知道 (zhīdào)
• 覺 / 觉
• 覺悟 / 觉悟 (juéwù)
• 覺醒 / 觉醒 (juéxǐng)
• 認識 / 认识
• 諳曉 / 谙晓 (ānxiǎo) (literary)
• 諳達 / 谙达 (āndá) (literary)
• 貫通 / 贯通 (guàntōng)
• 通曉 / 通晓 (tōngxiǎo)
• 通解 (tōngjiě) (literary)
• 通達 / 通达 (tōngdá)
• 達 / 达 (literary, or in compounds)
• 醒悟 (xǐngwù)
• 開悟 / 开悟 (kāiwù) (literary)
• 領悟 / 领悟 (lǐngwù)
• 領會 / 领会 (lǐnghuì)
• 領略 / 领略 (lǐnglüè)

Derived terms

• 一問三不知 / 一问三不知 (yī wèn sān bùzhī)
• 一物不知
• 一部二十四史，不知從何說起 / 一部二十四史，不知从何说起
• 三不知
• 三月不知肉味 (sān yuè bùzhī ròu wèi)
• 不當家不知柴米貴 / 不当家不知柴米贵 (bù dāngjiā bùzhī cháimǐ guì)
• 不知一個頭腦 / 不知一个头脑
• 不知丁董
• 不知下落
• 不知不罪
• 不知不覺 / 不知不觉 (bùzhī-bùjué)
• 不知世事
• 不知世務 / 不知世务
• 不知事
• 不知人事
• 不知人間有羞恥事 / 不知人间有羞耻事 (bùzhī rénjiān yǒu xiūchǐ shì)
• 不知何故
• 不知何許人 / 不知何许人
• 不知凡幾 / 不知凡几 (bùzhīfánjǐ)
• 不知分限
• 不知利害
• 不知務 / 不知务
• 不知去向 (bùzhīqùxiàng)
• 不知名
• 不知大體 / 不知大体
• 不知天高地下
• 不知天高地厚 (bùzhī tiāngāodìhòu)
• 不知好歉
• 不知好歹 (bùzhīhǎodǎi)
• 不知就裡 / 不知就里 (bùzhījiùlǐ)
• 不知忌諱 / 不知忌讳
• 不知怎的
• 不知恩義 / 不知恩义
• 不知情
• 不知所云 (bùzhīsuǒyún)
• 不知所以 (bùzhīsuǒyǐ)
• 不知所喻
• 不知所措 (bùzhīsuǒcuò)
• 不知所終 / 不知所终 (bùzhīsuǒzhōng)
• 不知所言
• 不知東南西北 / 不知东南西北
• 不知死
• 不知死活 (bùzhīsǐhuó)
• 不知深淺 / 不知深浅
• 不知甘苦
• 不知疼癢 / 不知疼痒
• 不知痛癢 / 不知痛痒
• 不知皁白 / 不知皂白
• 不知羞
• 不知者不做罪
• 不知者不罪 (bùzhī zhě bù zuì)
• 不知葫蘆裡賣甚麼藥 / 不知葫芦里卖甚么药
• 不知覺 / 不知觉
• 不知起倒
• 不知趣
• 不知足
• 不知輕重 / 不知轻重
• 不知通變 / 不知通变
• 不知進退 / 不知进退 (bùzhījìntuì)
• 不知道
• 不知頭腦 / 不知头脑
• 不知顛倒 / 不知颠倒
• 不知香臭
• 不知高低
• 人不知，鬼不覺 / 人不知，鬼不觉 (rén bù zhī, guǐ bù jué)
• 人事不知
• 人而無信，不知其可 / 人而无信，不知其可 (rén ér wú xìn, bù zhī qí kě)
• 但知其一，不知其二
• 只知其一，不知其二
• 只知有己，不知有人
• 吃米不知米價 / 吃米不知米价
• 外明不知裡暗 / 外明不知里暗
• 強不知以為知 / 强不知以为知 (qiǎng bùzhī yǐwéi zhī)
• 得福不知
• 恬不知怪
• 恬不知恥 / 恬不知耻 (tiánbùzhīchǐ)
• 搔首不知癢處 / 搔首不知痒处
• 放著鵝毛不知輕，頂著磨子不知重 / 放著鹅毛不知轻，顶著磨子不知重
• 有所不知 (yǒusuǒ bùzhī)
• 欲人不知，莫若勿為 / 欲人不知，莫若勿为
• 殊不知 (shūbùzhī)
• 渾然不知 / 浑然不知
• 無所不知 / 无所不知 (wúsuǒbùzhī)
• 目不知書 / 目不知书
• 知一不知十
• 知之為知之，不知為不知 / 知之为知之，不知为不知 (zhī zhī wéi zhī zhī, bù zhī wéi bù zhī)
• 知人知面不知心 (zhī rén zhī miàn bù zhī xīn)
• 知其一不知其二 (zhī qí yī bùzhī qí èr)
• 知其然而不知其所以然 (zhī qí rán ér bù zhī qí suǒyǐ rán)
• 神不知，鬼不覺 / 神不知，鬼不觉
• 神鬼不知
• 筍裡不知茆裡 / 笋里不知茆里
• 若要人不知，除非己莫為 / 若要人不知，除非己莫为 (ruò yào rén bùzhī chúfēi jǐ mò wéi)
• 茫然不知
• 蟬不知雪 / 蝉不知雪
• 蟪蛄不知春秋
• 身在福中不知福 (shēn zài fú zhōng bùzhī fú)
• 食不知味
• 飽人不知餓人飢 / 饱人不知饿人饥
• 飽漢不知餓漢飢 / 饱汉不知饿汉饥 (bǎo hàn bùzhī è hàn jī)
• 飽漢不知餓漢饑 / 饱汉不知饿汉饥 (bǎo hàn bùzhī è hàn jī)
• 飽漢子不知餓漢子飢 / 饱汉子不知饿汉子饥 (bǎo hànzi bùzhī è hànzi jī)
• 馬不知臉長 / 马不知脸长

Japanese

Kanji in this term
不	知
ふ Grade: 4	ち Grade: 2
on'yomi

Etymology

不(ふ) (fu, “not”) + 知(ち) (chi, “know”)

Noun

不(ふ)知(ち) • (fuchi) 

1. ignorance (not knowing)
2. ignorance (lacking intelligence)

Synonyms

• 無知(むち) (muchi)

Related terms

• 不知(しらぬ)火(い) (shiranui)

References

• Shinmura, Izuru, editor (1998), 広辞苑 [Kōjien] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, →ISBN

Old Korean

Alternative forms

• 安徐 (entirely phonogramic form, Idu script variant)
• 不喩 (Idu script variant, believed to be a different term by Vovin; also see Usage Notes)
• 非知, 未知 (different logogram, gugyeol variant depending on Chinese original text)

Etymology

Potentially a compound of *an (ancestral negating root) + *to (semantically light noun meaning "objective fact", whence Middle Korean ᄃᆞ (to)) + *-i (some kind of suffix).

Particle

不知 (*ANti)

1. Particle negating an adjacent noun or noun phrase.
   • 720, “獻花歌 (Heonhwa-ga)”, in 三國遺事 (Samguk Yusa) [Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms]:

     吾肹不喩慚肹伊賜等

     *NA-hur ANti PWUSkuli-si-n to-n

     It not being that you are bashful of me

   • c. 1170, Interpretive gugyeol glosses to the Avatamsaka Sutra, vol. 35:

     我非^知厼堅固^爲隱非^知厼

     *NA ANti-mye KYEN.KWO-ho-n ANti-mye

     It is not me and it is not solidity

     (N.B. Gugyeol glyphs are given in non-abbreviated forms.)

Usage notes

• This particle was restricted to negating nouns, including nominalized verbs. Verbs were negated with the adverb 不冬 (*ANtol) instead. In every uncontroversial example in the currently known corpus, adjectives were nominalized and then negated with 不知 (*ANti). Whether this represents a genuine grammatical phenomenon in Old Korean or simply coincidence due to the very limited corpus is not clear.
• Its Middle Korean reflex 아니〮 (àní) served as both a noun and an adverb, having displaced 不冬, and the Modern reflex behaves solely as an adverb. The contemporary form 아니다 (anida, “to not be”), showing an incorporation of the copula 이다 (-ida, “to be”) which combines only with nouns, remains as a vestige of the Old Korean function.
• Vovin argues that the Idu script variant 不喩 should be seen as a related but different form, which he reconstructs as approximately *AN-koy. Both would be derived from the hypothetical negative root *an-. The conventional view in Korean scholarship is to read 不喩 as a graphic variant of 不知 because fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Idu manuals in Hangul, which conserve significant elements of the Old Korean reading of phonograms, gloss the former sequence as 아닌디 (aninti). Furthermore, there appears to be no semantic difference between 不知 and 不喩. On the other hand, it is difficult to explain how 喩 could ever have been taken as a phonogram for *ti.

Descendants

• Middle Korean: 아니 (ani, “not”)
  • Korean: 아니 (ani, “not”)
• Gyeongsang Korean:
• ⇒ Middle Korean: 아니다 (anita, “to not be”)
  • ⇒ Korean: 아니다 (anida, “to not be”)
• → Proto-Northern Tungusic: *anti
  • Even: āt
  • Udihe: anči

See also

• 不冬 (*ANtol) (verbal negator)
• 毛冬 (*mwotol) (marker of inability)
• 不只 (*ANTOk) (marker of inability)

Further reading

• 이용 (Yi Yong) (2003) “釋讀口訣에 나타난 不定詞의 機能에 대하여 [On the functions of the negative particles in interpretive gugyeol]”, in Gugyeol Yeon'gu, volume 11, pages 249–273
• 남풍현 (Nam Pung-hyeon) (2010) “獻花歌의 解讀 [Readings of the "Heonhwa-ga"]”, in Gugyeol Yeon'gu, volume 24, pages 5–35
• 박지용 外 (Park Ji-yong et al.) (2012) 향가 해독 자료집 [hyangga haedok jaryojip, A Sourcebook of Hyangga Interpretations], Seoul National University, page 18
• Alexander Vovin (2018) “Two Tungusic Etymologies”, in Studia Orientalia Slovaca‎, volume 17, pages 125–134