人非生而知之者，孰能无惑 rén fēi shēng ér zhī zhī zhě ， shú néng wú huò

Knowledge is not innate to man, how can we overcome doubt?

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

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

Characters

Character Meaning
人 rén HSK 1
person; people; man
非 fēi HSK 2
not; to not be; non-
生 shēng HSK 1
life; to be born; raw
而 ér HSK 3
and; but (not); (indicates contrast)
知 zhī HSK 2
to know; to be aware
之 zhī HSK 4
(possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的de); it
者 zhě HSK 3
(after a verb or adjective) one who (is) ...
孰 shú
who; which; what
能 néng HSK 1
can; to be able to; ability
无 wú HSK 4
not; no; not to have
惑 huò HSK 6
to be puzzled; to confuse