不 bù
- Strokes
- 4
- Radical
- 一 — one
- How it's built
- Ideograph — the meaning is built from its parts
不得而知
bùdé'érzhī
unknown; unable to be known
Characters in this word
得 dé
- Strokes
- 11
- Radical
- 彳 — to step with the left foot
- How it's built
- Ideograph — the meaning is built from its parts
而 ér
- Strokes
- 6
- Radical
- 而 — and, and then, and yet
知 zhī
- Strokes
- 8
- Radical
- 矢 — arrow, dart
- How it's built
- Phono-semantic — one part hints at the meaning, another at the sound
Example phrases
- 这份手稿为何被长期封存，至今仍不得而知。 Zhè fèn shǒugǎo wèihé bèi chángqī fēngcún, zhìjīn réng bùdé'érzhī. Why this manuscript was sealed away for so long remains unknown to this day.
- 他为什么突然搬走，我们不得而知。 Tā wèishénme tūrán bānzǒu, wǒmen bùdé'érzhī. Why he suddenly moved away, we have no way of knowing.
- 比赛最后谁会赢，现在还不得而知。 Bǐsài zuìhòu shéi huì yíng, xiànzài hái bùdé'érzhī. Who will win the match in the end is still unknown.