Chinese word dictionary

可想而知

kěxiǎng’érzhī · (idiom) (it) goes without saying; can well be imagined

Practice word

Word information

Simplified可想而知

Traditional可想而知

Pinyinkěxiǎng’érzhī

Part of speechGeneral

HSK 3.07-9

HSK 2.0Not listed

Character breakdown

Study each Hanzi separately, then return to the complete word so pronunciation, meaning, and movement stay connected.

可kě

may, can, -able; possibly

想xiǎng

to believe, to wish for; to consider, to plan, to think

而ér

and, and then, and yet; but

知zhī

to know, to perceive, to comprehend

How to learn 可想而知

Listen once without reading, repeat the pinyin with its tones, then write every character in sequence. Finally, recall the complete meaning instead of memorizing each character as an isolated translation.

When the word appears in a sentence, check whether its part of speech and meaning match the definition shown here. Chinese words can change nuance with context.

Related vocabulary

Words with the same characters

Compare how a familiar Hanzi changes meaning inside another word.

可以kěyǐ

can; may; possible; able to; not bad; pretty good

想xiǎng

to think (about); to think of; to devise; to think (that); to believe (that); to desire; to want (to); to miss (feel wistful about the absence of)

知道zhīdào

to know; to become aware of; also pr. [zhi1dao5]

可能kěnéng

might (happen); possible; probable; possibility; probability; maybe; perhaps; CL:個|个[ge4]

而且érqiě

(not only ...) but also; moreover; in addition; furthermore

可kě

(prefix) can; may; able to; -able; to approve; to permit; to suit; (particle used for emphasis) certainly; very; but; however