不得而知 bùdé'érzhī unknown

Explanation

指不知道;无法知道。

means do not know; cannot know.

Origin Story

一位老农在田间劳作,突然听到远处传来一阵喧嚣,但他无法看清发生了什么,只能听见隐隐约约的喊叫声和嘈杂声。他心里充满了好奇,却又无法得知事情的真相,只能继续低头耕作,心中想着这到底是怎么一回事。傍晚时分,老农回到家中,向邻居打听,才得知原来是村里的小河决堤了,村民们正在忙着抢险救灾。老农这才明白,原来刚才听到的喧嚣声是这场突发事件带来的。

yī wèi lǎonóng zài tiánjiān láozuò, tūrán tīngdào yuǎnchù chuán lái yī zhèn xuānxiāo, dàn tā wúfǎ kàn qīng fāshēng le shénme, zhǐ néng tīng jiàn yǐnyǐnyuēyuē de hǎnjiào shēng hé cáozá shēng. tā xīn lǐ chōngmǎn le háoqí, què yòu wúfǎ dézhī shìqíng de zhēnxiàng, zhǐ néng jìxù dītóu gēngzuò, xīn zhōng xiǎngzhe zhè dàodǐ shì zěnmeyīhuí shì. bàngwǎn shífēn, lǎonóng huí dào jiāzhōng, xiàng línjū dǎting, cái dézhī yuánlái shì cūn lǐ de xiǎohé juédī le, cūnmínmen zhèngzài mángzhe qiǎngxiǎn jiùzāi. lǎonóng cái zhècái míngbái, yuánlái gāngcái tīngdào de xuānxiāo shēng shì zhè chǎng tūfā shìjiàn dài lái de.

An old farmer was working in the field when he suddenly heard a commotion from afar, but he couldn't see what was happening. He could only hear indistinct shouts and noises. He was curious, yet unable to know the truth, he could only continue to plow the land, wondering what was going on. In the evening, the farmer returned home and asked his neighbors what happened, and he learned that the river in the village had burst its banks, and the villagers were busy with flood control and disaster relief. The farmer then understood that the commotion he had heard was caused by this unexpected event.

Usage

用于表达对某事不知道或无法知道的情况。

yòng yú biǎodá duì mǒushì bù zhīdào huò wúfǎ zhīdào de qíngkuàng

Used to express that one does not know or cannot know something.

Examples

  • 这件事的真相究竟如何,我们不得而知。

    zhè jiàn shì de zhēnxiàng jiūjìng rúhé, wǒmen bùdé'érzhī

    We don't know the truth of this matter.

  • 会议的具体内容,由于保密的原因,不得而知。

    huìyì de jùtǐ nèiróng, yóuyú bǎomì de yuányīn, bùdé'érzhī

    The specific contents of the meeting are unknown due to confidentiality.

  • 对于未来的发展,我们还不得而知

    duìyú wèilái de fāzhǎn, wǒmen hái bùdé'érzhī

    We don't know about future developments yet