知zhī之zhī為wéi知zhī之zhī，不bù知zhī為wéi不bù知zhī

What does 知之為知之，不知為不知 (zhī zhī wéi zhī zhī bù zhī wéi bù zhī) mean?

知之為知之，不知為不知 (zhī zhī wéi zhī zhī bù zhī wéi bù zhī) is a folk proverb (yànyǔ 諺語). Word for word it reads "know it then say know it, not know then say not know." In use it means: Acknowledge what you know and admit what you don't; intellectual honesty is true wisdom. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Earth note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Ox.

Literally: "know it then say know it, not know then say not know."

The reading

The admission of not knowing is not a diminishment but a clearing, a making of space for what can be learned. Pretending to know what you do not is a tax levied against future understanding: you must maintain the pretense, which costs energy that would have been better spent learning. Say you do not know, and you have already begun.

What kind of proverb it is

• Typeyànyǔ 諺語
• FocusPresent-minded
• Element土 Earth
• Zodiac tie牛 Year of the Ox

Source Analects of Confucius 論語·為政 (Wèi Zhèng II)

Sits beside

Keep reading

Return to the Proverb Pond to draw another of the eighty-seven, or hear one read aloud. Read the rest of its chapter in Wisdom & Learning, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Ox, Year of the Frog, and Year of the Rat.