知其然而不知其所以然 — “To know what something is but not why it is so”
知其然而不知其所以然 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to know what something is but not why it is so”. To know the phenomenon but not its essence or underlying cause; to know the 'how' but not the 'why'. Literally, “To know that it is so, but not to know why it is so”.
知其然而不知其所以然 Pronunciation and Pinyin
知其然而不知其所以然 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 知其然而不知其所以然
Idioms Related to 知其然而不知其所以然
Synonyms of 知其然而不知其所以然
More idioms starting with 知
- zhī知yī一wàn万bì毕Grasp one, comprehend all
- zhī知yī一bù不zhī知shí十know one aspect, not the whole
- zhī知yī一ér而bù不zhī知èr二know one but not two
- zhī知bù不zhà诈yú愚The wise do not deceive the foolish
- zhī知yì义duō多qíng情understanding of loyalty and full of tender feelings
- zhī知zhī之wéi为zhī知zhī之，，bù不zhī知wèi为bù不zhī知know what you know, admit what you don't
- zhī知zhī之fēi非jiān艰，，xíng行zhī之wéi惟jiān艰Knowing is easy, doing is hard
- zhī知zhī之fēi非nàn难，，xíng行zhī之bù不yì易Knowing is easy, doing is hard
- zhī知shū书míng明lǐ理cultured and reasonable
- zhī知shū书zhī知lǐ礼well-educated and well-mannered
- zhī知shū书shí识zì字educated and literate
- zhī知shū书shí识lǐ礼educated and well-mannered
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Open the tool →Questions about 知其然而不知其所以然
What does 知其然而不知其所以然 mean?
知其然而不知其所以然 (zhī qí rán ér bù zhī qí suǒ yǐ rán) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to know what something is but not why it is so”.
How do you pronounce 知其然而不知其所以然?
知其然而不知其所以然 is pronounced zhī qí rán ér bù zhī qí suǒ yǐ rán in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 知其然而不知其所以然 literally mean?
Literally, 知其然而不知其所以然 means “to know that it is so, but not to know why it is so”. It is used to mean “to know what something is but not why it is so”.
What is the Chinese definition of 知其然而不知其所以然?
然：这样，如此。知道是这样，但不知道为什么是这样。只知道事物的表面现象，不知事物的本质及其产生的原因