DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

神不知鬼不覺

简神不知鬼不觉 · 繁神不知鬼不覺

Mandarin · pinyin shén bù zhī guǐ bù jué

top secret
hush-hush

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

神: shén · spirit, god, supernatural being
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
知: zhī · know, perceive, comprehend
鬼: guǐ · ghost; spirit of dead; devil; Kangxi radical 194; 23rd lunar mansion, determinative star θ Cancri
覺: Look up this written character
觉: jué · to wake up from sleep; conscious

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

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

2–4–1–3–4–2 · shen2 bu4 zhi1 gui3 bu4 jue2

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.

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.

神不知鬼不覺 · find source passages ↗ · 神不知鬼不觉 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Rime · Wiktionary

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

san4 bat1 zi1 gwai2 bat1 gok3

Cantonese word readings for 神不知鬼不覺. 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) unbeknownst to anybody

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

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