📖 Meaning
This idiom describes someone who knows everything and has no area of ignorance. It praises a person's encyclopedic knowledge, though it is also sometimes used sarcastically to mock someone who pretends to be omniscient.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from the Daoist text 'Liezi' (《列子·黄帝》), which states that the sage knows all things and understands all things, and therefore can be guided and employed. It reflects the classical Daoist ideal of the sage's complete, all-encompassing knowledge. Later it came to be used broadly for anyone with extensive erudition. The Song dynasty scholar Su Shi also cited it in his essay 'On the Doctrine of the Mean.'
💡 Example Usage
他自诩无所不知，却连最基本的常识都不懂。
He boasts of knowing everything, yet does not even grasp the most basic common sense.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 无所不知
- Pinyin: wú suǒ bù zhī
- Literal Translation: nothing, that which, not, know
- Category: Knowledge
- Characters: 4