DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

素不相識

简素不相识 · 繁素不相識

Mandarin · pinyin sù bù xiāng shí

to be total strangers (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

素: sù · white (silk); plain; vegetarian; formerly; normally
不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
相: xiāng · mutual, reciprocal, each other
識: Look up this written character
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

4–4–1–2 · su4 bu4 xiang1 shi2

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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.

素不相識 · find source passages ↗ · 素不相识 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense

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 one another before; to be strangers to one another

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

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