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知其然而不知其所以然

Mandarin · pinyin zhī qí rán ér bù zhī qí suǒ yǐ rán

(saying) to know that it is so but not why it is so

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Characters in this entry

知: zhī · know, perceive, comprehend
其: qí · his, her, its, their; that
然: rán · yes, certainly; pledge, promise
而: ér · and; and then; and yet; but; Kangxi radical 126
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
所: suǒ · place, location; numerary adjunct
以: yǐ · by means of; thereby, therefore; consider as; in order to

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

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Mandarin tones

1–2–2–2–4–1–2–3–3–2 · zhi1 qi2 ran2 er2 bu4 zhi1 qi2 suo3 yi3 ran2

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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 know the result without knowing the reason for the result

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

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