Definition
不明 is a formal/literary verb meaning 'to not understand' or 'to be unclear/unknown'. It is a compound of 不 (not) and 明 (clear/understand). It often appears in set phrases like 不明真相 (to be unaware of the truth), 下落不明 (whereabouts unknown), and 原因不明 (cause unknown). In everyday speech, you are more likely to hear 不明白 or 不清楚.
v.
to fail to understandto be unclear about(formal) unknownnot clear (e.g., of whereabouts, cause)
Examples
- 不明。Tā duì shìqíng de zhēnxiàng bù míng.He is unclear about the truth of the matter.
- 。Nà míng shīzōng de xuéshēng zhìjīn xiàluò bù míng.That missing student's whereabouts are still unknown.
- 不明。Zhè chǎng huǒzāi de qǐhuǒ yuányīn bù míng.The cause of the fire is unknown.
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