LookupMandarin · 繁體 · English

ChineseCharactersMeanings inMandarin–English · CC-CEDICTSources ↗

DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

明知故問

简明知故问 · 繁明知故問

Mandarin · pinyin míng zhī gù wèn

(idiom) to ask a question, already knowing the answer

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

明: míng · bright, light, brilliant; clear
知: zhī · know, perceive, comprehend
故: gù · ancient, old; reason, because
問: wèn · ask (about), inquire after
问: wèn · ask about, inquire after

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

2–1–4–4 · ming2 zhi1 gu4 wen4

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

5character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ming4 zi1 gu3 man6

Cantonese word readings for 明知故問. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) to ask intentionally a question one already knows the answer to

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack