不问不闻 — “To be indifferent or unconcerned about things”
不问不闻 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to be indifferent or unconcerned about things”. To not ask about or pay attention to matters. Literally, “Not ask, not hear/listen”.
不问不闻 Pronunciation and Pinyin
不问不闻 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 不问不闻
Origin and Story of 不问不闻
In the Grand View Garden, Li Wan was the only widow. She was originally Jia Zhu's wife, and after his death, she and her five-year-old son Jia Lan lived alone, depending on each other. Born into a prominent family in Jinling, she was educated and sensible.
After becoming a widow in her youth, despite living amidst luxury, she became like dry wood and cold ashes, completely indifferent to the outside world. She focused solely on serving her elders and raising her son, embodying the ideal of a virtuous wife and loving mother.
Idioms Related to 不问不闻
Synonyms of 不问不闻
Antonyms of 不问不闻
More idioms starting with 不
- bù不yī一ér而zú足numerous and varied, impossible to list all
- bù不sān三bù不sì四improper or disreputable
- bù不shàng上bù不xià下stuck in an awkward position
- bù不shàng上bù不luò落in an awkward or embarrassing situation
- bù不shì世zhī之yè业unparalleled achievements
- bù不shì世zhī之chóu仇unrivaled enmity
- bù不shì世zhī之gōng功unparalleled achievement
- bù不shì世zhī之lüè略unparalleled strategy
- bù不sàng丧bǐ匕chàng鬯peace and order, rituals undisturbed
- bù不fēng丰bù不jiǎn俭neither extravagant nor frugal
- bù不fēng丰bù不shā杀neither extravagant nor frugal
- bù不wèi为wǔ五dǒu斗mǐ米zhé折yāo腰Refuse to compromise integrity for meager gain
Recommended tools
Character Highlight Animator
Choose character parts and animate their colors, together or in stroke order
Open the tool →
Writing Worksheets
Printable tracing sheets with a QR learning companion
Open the tool →
Bingo Cards
Picture and word Bingo for your class
Open the tool →
Picture Worksheets
Chinese and English fill-in vocabulary worksheets
Open the tool →Questions about 不问不闻
What does 不问不闻 mean?
不问不闻 (bù wèn bù wén) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to be indifferent or unconcerned about things”.
How do you pronounce 不问不闻?
不问不闻 is pronounced bù wèn bù wén in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 不问不闻 literally mean?
Literally, 不问不闻 means “not ask, not hear/listen”. It is used to mean “to be indifferent or unconcerned about things”.
Where does 不问不闻 come from?
不问不闻 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to the modern era. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 不问不闻?
闻：听。人家说的不听，也不主动去问。形容对事情不关心。