一问三不知

一問三不知
yīwènsānbùzhī
idiom

Meanings

  1. 1 to reply 'don't know' to every question
  2. 2 to be completely in the dark; to know nothing about something

Examples

HSK 2
Zhè jiàn shì wǒgāng lái méi jǐ tiān, yīwènsānbùzhī, qǐng bié wèn wǒ.
I just arrived a few days ago and don't know anything about this - please don't ask me.
HSK 3
Wèn tā gōngsī de qíngkuàng, tā yīwènsānbùzhī.
Ask him about the company's situation and he doesn't know a thing.

Tips

history
From 左传·哀公二十七: 君子 - a noble's planning considers beginning, middle, and end. The ('three') refers to these three stages: not knowing any of the three means total ignorance.
usage
Often used as polite self-deprecation ('I really don't know anything about this') or to criticize someone uninformed but in a position to know. Frequently follows + /.

Stroke Order

wèn
sān
zhī