无皂白

無皂白

wúzàobái

idiom

Meanings

1 to fail to tell right from wrong
2 unable to distinguish black from white

Characters

Examples

他不问缘由就发火，简直无皂白。

Tā bù wèn yuányóu jiù fāhuǒ, jiǎnzhí wúzàobái.

He flew off the handle without asking a thing — no sense of right or wrong at all.

做判决不能无皂白，要听双方陈述。

Zuò pànjué bù néng wúzàobái, yào tīng shuāngfāng chénshù.

A verdict can't be made without sorting right from wrong; both sides must be heard.

Tips

history

皂 (black) and 白 (white) were a standard pairing in classical Chinese for moral opposites. The fuller modern form is 不分皂白 — 无皂白 is an older, more compact version seen in classical commentary.

Stroke Order

无 wú

皂 zào

白 bái