Usage of the character 知

lit. to sound out the difficulties and retreat to avoid defeat (idiom)
fig. to back out of an awkward situation; to get out on finding out what it's really like

shìxiāntōngzhī

事先通知

[事先通知]

preliminary notification
to announce in advance

kēxuézhīshi

科学知识

[科學知識]

scientific knowledge

yīzhībànjiě

一知半解

[一知半解]

lit. to know one and understand half (idiom); a smattering of knowledge
dilettante
amateur

hóngyánzhījǐ

红颜知己

[紅顏知己]

close female friend
confidante

yīwàng'érzhī

一望而知

[一望而知]

to be evident at a glance (idiom)

xiānzhīxiānjué

先知先觉

[先知先覺]

having foresight
a person of foresight

wēngùzhīxīn

温故知新

[溫故知新]

to review the old and know the new (idiom, from the Analects)
to recall the past to understand the future

Dàxiānzhīshū

大先知书

[大先知書]

the biblical books of the prophets

jìnrénjiēzhī

尽人皆知

[盡人皆知]

known by everyone (idiom); well known
a household name

zhēnzhīzhuójiàn

真知灼见

[真知灼見]

penetrating insight

bùzhīqùxiàng

不知去向

[不知去向]

whereabouts unknown
gone missing

bùzhīsǐhuó

不知死活

[不知死活]

to act recklessly (idiom)

hòuzhī-hòujué

后知后觉

[後知後覺]

to realize in hindsight; to realize belatedly; to be late to the party

tāxiāngyùgùzhī

他乡遇故知

[他鄉遇故知]

meeting an old friend in a foreign place (idiom)

jífēngzhījìngcǎo

疾风知劲草

[疾風知勁草]

lit. sturdy grass withstands high winds (idiom)
fig. strength of character is revealed in a crisis

zhīzǐmòruòfù

知子莫若父

[知子莫若父]

nobody understands one's son better than his father (idiom)

rènzhīxīnlǐxué

认知心理学

[認知心理學]

cognitive psychology

lùqǔtōngzhīshū

录取通知书

[錄取通知書]

admission notice (issued by a university)

zhīshigōngchéngshī

知识工程师

[知識工程師]

knowledge worker

yīwènsānbùzhī

一问三不知

[一問三不知]

lit. to reply "don't know" whatever the question (idiom)
fig. absolutely no idea of what's going on
complete ignorance

wēngù'érzhīxīn

温故而知新

[溫故而知新]

to review the old and know the new (idiom, from the Analects)
to recall the past to understand the future

bùzhīzhěbùzuì

不知者不罪

[不知者不罪]

One who does not know is not guilty
If one does not know any better, one cannot be held responsible

bùzhītiāngāodìhòu

不知天高地厚

[不知天高地厚]

not to know the immensity of heaven and earth
an exaggerated opinion of one's own abilities

xuéránhòuzhībùzú

学然后知不足

[學然後知不足]

to learn is to know one's ignorance (the Book of Rites 禮記／礼记 ( Lǐjì))

huìgūbùzhīchūnqiū

蟪蛄不知春秋

[蟪蛄不知春秋]

lit. short-lived cicada does not know the seasons; fig. to see only a small piece of the big picture

shénbùzhīguǐbùjué

神不知鬼不觉

[神不知鬼不覺]

top secret
hush-hush

rénbùzhīguǐbùjué

人不知鬼不觉

[人不知鬼不覺]

in absolute secrecy

gōnggòngzhīshifènzǐ

公共知识分子

[公共知識分子]

public intellectual (sometimes used derogatorily)

bǎohànbùzhī'èhànjī

饱汉不知饿汉饥

[飽漢不知餓漢飢]

The well-fed cannot know how the starving suffer (idiom).

bǎorénbùzhī'èrénjī

饱人不知饿人饥

[飽人不知餓人飢]

The well-fed cannot know how the starving suffer (idiom).

jiǔféngzhījǐqiānbēishǎo

酒逢知己千杯少

[酒逢知己千杯少]

a thousand cups of wine is not too much when best friends meet (idiom)
when you're with close friends, you can let your hair down

rènzhīshénjīngxīnlǐxué

认知神经心理学

[認知神經心理學]

cognitive neuropsychology

zhīqíbùkě'érwéizhī

知其不可而为之

[知其不可而為之]

to keep going resolutely despite knowing the task is impossible (idiom)

shēnzàifúzhōngbùzhīfú

身在福中不知福

[身在福中不知福]

to live in plenty without appreciating it (idiom); not to know when one is well off

zhīrénzhīmiànbùzhīxīn

知人知面不知心

[知人知面不知心]

one may know a person for a long time without understanding his true nature (idiom)

chūnjiāngshuǐnuǎnyāxiānzhī

春江水暖鸭先知

[春江水暖鴨先知]

lit. the duck is the first to know if the spring water is warm (idiom)
fig. an expert in the field knows which way the wind blows

zhīshiyuèduōyuèfǎndòng

知识越多越反动

[知識越多越反動]

the more knowledgeable, the more reactionary (absurd anti-intellectual slogan attributed after the event to the Gang of Four 四人幫／四人帮 ( Sìrénbāng))

bùdāngjiābùzhīcháimǐguì

不当家不知柴米贵

[不當家不知柴米貴]

a person who doesn't manage a household would not be aware how expensive it is (idiom)

guǎngbōhéwèizhīfúwùqì

广播和未知服务器

[廣播和未知服務器]

Broadcast and Unknown Server
BUS

yànquè'ānzhīhónghúzhīzhì

燕雀安知鸿鹄之志

[燕雀安知鴻鵠之志]

lit. can the sparrow and swallow know the will of the great swan? (idiom)
fig. how can we small fry predict the ambitions of the great?

Shìjiè Zhīshí Chǎnquán Zǔzhī

世界知识产权组织

[世界知識產權組織]

World Intellectual Property Organization

sàiwēngshīmǎyānzhīfēifú

塞翁失马焉知非福

[塞翁失馬焉知非福]

the old man lost his mare, but it all turned out for the best (idiom); fig. a blessing in disguise
it's an ill wind that blows nobody any good

yànquèyānzhīhónggǔzhīzhì

燕雀焉知鸿鹄之志

[燕雀焉知鴻鵠之志]

lit. can the sparrow and swallow know the will of the great swan? (idiom); fig. how can we small fry predict the ambitions of the great?

zǎozhījīnrìhébìdāngchū

早知今日何必当初

[早知今日何必當初]

if I (you, she, he...) had known it would come to this, I (you, she, he...) would not have acted thus (idiom)
to regret vainly one's past behavior

sàiwēngshīmǎ'ānzhīfēifú

塞翁失马安知非福

[塞翁失馬安知非福]

the old man lost his mare, but it all turned out for the best (idiom); fig. a blessing in disguise
it's an ill wind that blows nobody any good
also written 塞翁失馬焉知非福／塞翁失马焉知非福

Sīmǎ Zhāozhīxīnlùrénjiēzhī

司马昭之心路人皆知

[司馬昭之心路人皆知]

lit. Sima Zhao's intentions are obvious to everyone (idiom)
fig. an open secret

rúrényǐnshuǐ,lěngnuǎnzìzhī

如人饮水，冷暖自知

[如人飲水，冷暖自知]

the person who drinks it knows best whether the water is hot or cold (Zen proverb); self-awareness comes from within
to know best by personal experience

zhījǐzhībǐ,bǎizhànbùdài

知己知彼，百战不殆

[知己知彼，百戰不殆]

know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated (idiom, from Sunzi's "The Art of War" 孫子兵法／孙子兵法 ( Sūnzǐ Bīngfǎ))

zhǐzhīqíyī,bùzhīqí'èr

只知其一，不知其二

[只知其一，不知其二]

to know the first, but not know the second (idiom); only partial information

zhīwúbùyán,yánwúbùjìn

知无不言，言无不尽

[知無不言，言無不盡]

lit. not hiding anything he knows, not stopping before he has said it through (idiom)
fig. frank; outspoken

zhīrénzhězhì,zìzhīzhěmíng

知人者智，自知者明

[知人者智，自知者明]

those who understand others are clever, but those who know themselves are truly wise (idiom, from Laozi's 道德經／道德经 ( Dàodéjīng)

zhībǐzhījǐ,bǎizhànbùdài

知彼知己，百战不殆

[知彼知己，百戰不殆]

knowing the enemy and yourself will get you unscathed through a hundred battles (idiom, from Sunzi's "The Art of War")

zhīqírán'érbùzhīqísuǒyǐrán

知其然而不知其所以然

[知其然而不知其所以然]

(idiom) to know that it is so but not why it is so

jífēngzhījìncǎo,lièhuǒjiànzhēnjīn

疾风知劲草，烈火见真金

[疾風知勁草，烈火見真金]

lit. sturdy grass withstands high winds and true gold stands the test of fire (idiom)
fig. strength of character is revealed in a crisis

ruòyàorénbùzhī,chúfēijǐmòwéi

若要人不知，除非己莫为

[若要人不知，除非己莫為]

If you don't want anyone to know, don't do it (idiom). fig. If you do something bad, people will inevitably hear about it.

lùyáozhīmǎlì,rìjiǔjiànrénxīn

路遥知马力，日久见人心

[路遙知馬力，日久見人心]

just as distance determines the stamina of a horse, so does time reveal a person's true heart (proverb)

hǎinèicúnzhījǐ,tiānyáruòbǐlín

海内存知己，天涯若比邻

[海內存知己，天涯若比鄰]

close friend in a distant land, far-flung realms as next door
close in spirit although far away

Máo Zédōng: Xiānwéirénzhīde Gùshi

毛泽东：鲜为人知的故事

[毛澤東：鮮為人知的故事]

Mao: The Unknown Story by Jung Chang 張戎／张戎 ( Zhāng Róng) and Jon Halliday

wúshēngyěyǒuyá,érzhīyěwúyá

吾生也有涯，而知也无涯

[吾生也有涯，而知也無涯]

Life is short, learning is limitless
Ars longa, vita brevis

xiùcaibùchūmén,quánzhītiānxiàshì

秀才不出门，全知天下事

[秀才不出門，全知天下事]

a learned person need not leave his home to know what's going on in the world (idiom)

xiùcaibùchūmén,néngzhītiānxiàshì

秀才不出门，能知天下事

[秀才不出門，能知天下事]

a learned person need not leave his home to know what's going on in the world (idiom)

míngzhīshānyǒuhǔ,piānxiànghǔshānxíng

明知山有虎，偏向虎山行

[明知山有虎，偏向虎山行]

lit. to willfully go towards the mountain although knowing that it has tigers (idiom)
fig. to take a risk despite knowing the dangers

rénfēishēng'érzhīzhīzhě,shúnéngwúhuò

人非生而知之者，孰能无惑

[人非生而知之者，孰能無惑]

Knowledge is not innate to man, how can we overcome doubt?
We are not born with knowledge, how does one achieve maturity? (i.e. without guidance from a teacher - Tang dynasty essayist Han Yu 韓愈／韩愈 ( Hán Yù))

shìwèizhījǐzhěsǐ,nüwèiyuèjǐzhěróng

士为知己者死，女为悦己者容

[士為知己者死，女為悅己者容]

a true gentleman will sacrifice his life for a friend who understands him, as a woman makes herself beautiful for her sweetheart

yībù'èrshísìshǐ,bùzhīcónghéshuōqǐ

一部二十四史，不知从何说起

[一部二十四史，不知從何說起]

It's a long and intricate story, I hardly know where to start.

hàoxuéjìnhūzhī,lìxíngjìnhūrén,zhīchǐjìnhūyǒng

好学近乎知，力行近乎仁，知耻近乎勇

[好學近乎知，力行近乎仁，知恥近乎勇]

to love learning is akin to knowledge, to study diligently is akin to benevolence, to know shame is akin to courage (Confucius)