知之為知之，不知為不知

See also: 知之为知之，不知为不知

Chinese

		to know; to be aware	's; him/her/it; this	because of; for; to because of; for; to; act as; take...to be; to be; to do; to serve as; to become	to know; to be aware	's; him/her/it; this		not; no	to know; to be aware	because of; for; to because of; for; to; act as; take...to be; to be; to do; to serve as; to become	not; no	to know; to be aware
trad. (知之為知之，不知為不知)		知	之	為	知	之	，	不	知	為	不	知
simp. (知之为知之，不知为不知)		知	之	为	知	之	，	不	知	为	不	知

Etymology

From the Analects, Book 2 (《論語·爲政》):

子曰：「由！誨女知之乎？知之為知之，不知為不知，是知也。」 [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad.]

子曰：「由！诲女知之乎？知之为知之，不知为不知，是知也。」 [Traditional Chinese poetry, simp.]

From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

Zǐyuē: “Yóu! Huì rǔ zhì zhī hū? Zhī zhī wèi zhī zhī, bùzhī wèi bùzhī, shì zhì yě.” [Pinyin]

The Master said, "You, shall I teach you what knowledge is? When you know a thing, to hold that you know it; and when you do not know a thing, to allow that you do not know it - this is knowledge."

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): zhī zhī wéi zhī zhī, bù zhī wéi bù zhī

(Zhuyin): ㄓㄓㄨㄟˊ ㄓㄓ , ㄅㄨˋ ㄓㄨㄟˊ ㄅㄨˋ ㄓ
Cantonese (Jyutping): zi¹ zi¹ wai⁴ zi¹ zi¹, bat¹ zi¹ wai⁴ bat¹ zi¹

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: zhī zhī wéi zhī zhī, bù zhī wéi bù zhī
  - Zhuyin: ㄓㄓㄨㄟˊ ㄓㄓ , ㄅㄨˋ ㄓㄨㄟˊ ㄅㄨˋ ㄓ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: jhih jhih wéi jhih jhih, bù jhih wéi bù jhih
  - Wade–Giles: chih¹ chih¹ wei² chih¹ chih¹, pu⁴ chih¹ wei² pu⁴ chih¹
  - Yale: jr̄ jr̄ wéi jr̄ jr̄-, bù jr̄ wéi bù jr̄
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jy jy wei jy jy, bu jy wei bu jy
  - Palladius: чжи чжи вэй чжи чжи, бу чжи вэй бу чжи (čži čži vɛj čži čži, bu čži vɛj bu čži)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ weɪ̯³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ pu⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ weɪ̯³⁵ pu⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: zi¹ zi¹ wai⁴ zi¹ zi¹, bat¹ zi¹ wai⁴ bat¹ zi¹
  - Yale: jī jī wàih jī jī, bāt jī wàih bāt jī
  - Cantonese Pinyin: dzi¹ dzi¹ wai⁴ dzi¹ dzi¹, bat⁷ dzi¹ wai⁴ bat⁷ dzi¹
  - Guangdong Romanization: ji¹ ji¹ wei⁴ ji¹ ji¹, bed¹ ji¹ wei⁴ bed¹ ji¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡siː⁵⁵ t͡siː⁵⁵ wɐi̯²¹ t͡siː⁵⁵ t͡siː⁵⁵ pɐt̚⁵ t͡siː⁵⁵ wɐi̯²¹ pɐt̚⁵ t͡siː⁵⁵/

Proverb

知之為知之，不知為不知

You either know it or you don't (don't pretend to know it if you don't).

Synonyms

(Cantonese) 明就明，唔明就唔明