不知道 (bù zhīdào) — to not know; to be unaware in Mandarin

bù zhīdào

“to not know; to be unaware”

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#1283 most common word

Pinyin colour key: tone 1 (high flat), tone 2 (rising), tone 3 (dipping), tone 4 (falling), neutral.

Tone breakdown

不知道 is pronounced bù zhīdào. Tap any syllable’s row to hear the whole word.

bù

fourth tone (sharp falling, ˋ)

zhī

first tone (high & flat, ˉ)

dào

fourth tone (sharp falling, ˋ)

In a sentence

Wǒ búzhīdào dáàn.

I don't know the answer.

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Frequently asked questions

What does 不知道 mean?+

不知道 (bù zhīdào) means "to not know; to be unaware" in Mandarin Chinese.

How do you pronounce 不知道?+

不知道 is pronounced bù zhīdào. It uses the tone 4 (falling), then the tone 1 (high flat). Tap the character on this page to hear native audio.

How common is 不知道 in Mandarin?+

不知道 is the #1283 most frequent word in spoken Mandarin, so it is one of the first words worth learning.

Words at a similar frequency

Master the tones first

Mandarin tones explained

What each tone sounds like and why it matters.

Tone sandhi rules

Why some tones change in connected speech.

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Browse more on the Mandarin vocabulary hub, or read how to learn Mandarin tones.