知之為知之，不知為不知

Chinese
to know; to be aware 's; him/her/it; this
 
because of; for; to
because of; for; to; act as; take...to be; to be; to do; to serve as; to become
 to know; to be aware 's; him/her/it; this not; no to know; to be aware
 
because of; for; to
because of; for; to; act as; take...to be; to be; to do; to serve as; to become
 not; no to know; to be aware
trad. (知之為知之，不知為不知) 知 之 為 知 之 ， 不 知 為 不 知
simp. (知之为知之，不知为不知) 知 之 为 知 之 ， 不 知 为 不 知

Etymology

From the Analects, Book 2 (《論語·爲政》):

子曰：「由！誨女知之乎？知之為知之，不知為不知，是知也。」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
子曰：「由！诲女知之乎？知之为知之，不知为不知，是知也。」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
Zǐyuē: “Yóu! Huì rǔ zhì zhī hū? Zhī zhī wèi zhī zhī, bùzhī wèi bùzhī, shì zhì yě.” [Pinyin]
The Master said, "You, shall I teach you what knowledge is? When you know a thing, to hold that you know it; and when you do not know a thing, to allow that you do not know it - this is knowledge."

Pronunciation

  • Mandarin
    (Pinyin): zhī zhī wéi zhī zhī, bù zhī wéi bù zhī
    (Zhuyin): ㄓ ㄓ ㄨㄟˊ ㄓ ㄓ , ㄅㄨˋ ㄓ ㄨㄟˊ ㄅㄨˋ ㄓ
  • Mandarin
    • (Standard Chinese)+
      • Hanyu Pinyin: zhī zhī wéi zhī zhī, bù zhī wéi bù zhī
      • Zhuyin: ㄓ ㄓ ㄨㄟˊ ㄓ ㄓ , ㄅㄨˋ ㄓ ㄨㄟˊ ㄅㄨˋ ㄓ
      • Tongyong Pinyin: jhih jhih wéi jhih jhih, bù jhih wéi bù jhih
      • Wade–Giles: chih1 chih1 wei2 chih1 chih1, pu4 chih1 wei2 pu4 chih1
      • Yale: jr̄ jr̄ wéi jr̄ jr̄-, bù jr̄ wéi bù jr̄
      • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jy jy wei jy jy, bu jy wei bu jy
      • Palladius: чжи чжи вэй чжи чжи, бу чжи вэй бу чжи (čži čži vɛj čži čži, bu čži vɛj bu čži)
      • Sinological IPA (key): /ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ weɪ̯³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ pu⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ weɪ̯³⁵ pu⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵/

Proverb

知之為知之，不知為不知

  1. You either know it or you don't (don't pretend to know it if you don't).
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