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不知所云

Mandarin · pinyin bù zhī suǒ yún

to not know what sb is driving at
to be unintelligible

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Characters in this entry

不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
知: zhī · know, perceive, comprehend
所: suǒ · place, location; numerary adjunct
云: yún · say, speak; clouds

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

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Mandarin tones

4–1–3–2 · bu4 zhi1 suo3 yun2

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

phrase

(idiomatic) to not know what someone is driving at; to be unintelligible

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

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