DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

不知所終

简不知所终 · 繁不知所終

Mandarin · pinyin bù zhī suǒ zhōng

(idiom) to vanish without a trace; to go missing

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
知: zhī · know, perceive, comprehend
所: suǒ · place, location; numerary adjunct
終: Look up this written character
终: zhōng · end; finally, in the end

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

4–1–3–1 · bu4 zhi1 suo3 zhong1

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

4character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

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

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.

不知所終 · find source passages ↗ · 不知所终 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

bat1 zi1 so2 zung1

Cantonese word readings for 不知所終. 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 not know what has become of someone; to not know someone's whereabouts; to not know what happened to someone

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

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