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目不識丁

简目不识丁 · 繁目不識丁

Mandarin · pinyin mù bù shí dīng

lit. the eye cannot recognize the letter T (idiom); totally illiterate

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Characters in this entry

目: mù · eye; look, see; division, topic; Kangxi radical 109
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
識: Look up this written character
丁: dīng · male adult; robust, vigorous; 4th heavenly stem
识: shí · shì · recognize, understand, know

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

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Mandarin tones

4–4–2–1 · mu4 bu4 shi2 ding1

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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.

目不識丁 · find source passages ↗ · 目不识丁 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

muk6 bat1 sik1 ding1

Cantonese word readings for 目不識丁. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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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

(derogatory) to not even know the most basic characters; to be densely illiterate

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

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