未 wèi
- Strokes
- 5
- Radical
- 木 — tree
- How it's built
- Ideograph — the meaning is built from its parts
未知数
wèizhīshù
unknown quantity; uncertain factor
Characters in this word
知 zhī
- Strokes
- 8
- Radical
- 矢 — arrow, dart
- How it's built
- Phono-semantic — one part hints at the meaning, another at the sound
数 shǔ
- Strokes
- 13
- Radical
- 攵 — to rap, to tap
- Made of
- 娄 a constellation 攵 to rap, to tap
- How it's built
- Phono-semantic — one part hints at the meaning, another at the sound
Example phrases
- 新能源补贴退坡后，企业的现金流能否维持，仍是一个未知数。 Xīn néngyuán bǔtiē tuìpō hòu, qǐyè de xiànjīnliú néngfǒu wéichí, réng shì yí gè wèizhīshù. After new-energy subsidies are reduced, whether companies can maintain cash flow remains an unknown.
- 这场比赛谁能赢还是个未知数。 Zhè chǎng bǐsài shéi néng yíng háishì ge wèizhīshù. Who will win this match is still an unknown.
- 他的真实想法是未知数，谁也猜不透。 Tāde zhēnshí xiǎngfǎ shì wèizhīshù, shéi yě cāibùtòu. What he really thinks is an unknown; nobody can quite guess it.
Related words
- 未必 wèibì not necessarily
- 未来 wèilái future
- 从未 cóngwèi never, ever
- 未 wèi not yet, not
- 未成年人 wèichéngniánrén minor
- 前所未有 qiánsuǒwèiyǒu unprecedented; never seen before
- 尚未 shàngwèi not yet
- 未免 wèimiǎn rather; a bit too
- 知道 zhīdào to know
- 知识 zhīshi knowledge
- 通知 tōngzhī to notify; notice
- 通知书 tōngzhīshū written notice