不得而知

bùdé'érzhī

idiom HSK 7-9 #21,995

Meanings

1 unable to find out; unknown
2 impossible to know

Characters

to be able to; to get

and then (literary connector)

Literally 'unable to then know' - cannot obtain the knowledge.

Examples

HSK 2

这笔钱去了哪里，不得而知。

Zhè bǐ qián qù le nǎlǐ, bùdé'érzhī.

Where this money went is unknown.

HSK 3

他为什么离开，至今不得而知。

Tā wèishénme líkāi, zhìjīn bùdé'érzhī.

Why he left remains unknown to this day.

HSK 5

真相如何，外人不得而知。

Zhēnxiàng rúhé, wàirén bùdé'érzhī.

What the truth is, outsiders have no way of knowing.

Tips

register

不得而知 is a literary, formal expression commonly seen in written Chinese, news reports, and historical narratives. In casual speech, you'd just say 不知道 or 搞不清楚.

Stroke Order

不 bù

得 de

而 ér

知 zhī