目不识丁

1. Basic Information

• Pinyin: mù bù shí dīng
• English Translation: Not knowing even the simplest character (completely illiterate)
• Idiom Composition: 「目」（Eye; sight）＋「不」（Not (negation)）＋「识」（To recognize; to know; to read）＋「丁」（The character 'ding' (symbolizing the simplest possible written word due to its minimal strokes)）
• Meaning: To be completely illiterate or uneducated. It literally describes someone who cannot even recognize the character 丁 (dīng), which is one of the simplest characters in the Chinese language.

2. Detailed Meaning and Nuances

「目不识丁」 contains the following nuances:

• Extreme Illiteracy: The idiom does not just mean someone struggles with difficult texts; it implies they cannot recognize even the most foundational, basic symbols of the language.
• The Symbolism of 丁 (dīng): The character 丁 (dīng) consists of only two strokes. It is used here as a proxy for 'the easiest thing imaginable.' Some scholars suggest it may have originally been a miscopying of the character 一 (yī) or 个 (gè), but 丁 (dīng) has been the standard usage for centuries.

3. Usage

「目不识丁」 is mainly used in the following contexts:

• Describing educational background: Used to describe someone who never had the opportunity to attend school or learn to read, often in a historical or rural context.
  • Example:「虽然他目不识丁，但做起生意来却非常精明。」
    （Although he is completely illiterate, he is very shrewd when it comes to doing business.）
• Metaphorical ignorance: Used self-deprecatingly or hyperbolically to express that one knows absolutely nothing about a specific technical or professional field.
  • Example:「对于电脑编程，我简直是目不识丁。」
    （When it comes to computer programming, I am practically illiterate.）

Additional Examples:

1. 那个年代很多穷人家的孩子都目不识丁。
   （In those days, many children from poor families were unable to read or write.）
2. 很难想象一个目不识丁的人能写出这样深刻的文章。
   （It is hard to imagine that someone who doesn't know a single character could write such a profound article.）
3. 为了扫除文盲，村里开办了夜校，帮助那些目不识丁的村民。
   （To eliminate illiteracy, the village opened a night school to help those villagers who were completely uneducated.）

4. Cultural Background and Notes

• This idiom originates from the Biography of Zhang Hongjing in the Old Book of Tang (旧唐书·张弘靖传). It records a saying: 'Even if you can pull a bow with the strength of two stones, it is not as good as knowing the single character 丁 (dīng).' This reflected a cultural shift toward valuing civil scholarship over military might.
• In traditional Chinese society, literacy was the primary gatekeeper to social mobility. Being 目不识丁 (mù bù shí dīng) meant being excluded from the imperial examination system and most forms of official power.
• While literal illiteracy has drastically decreased in modern China, the phrase remains popular as a way to describe 'functional illiteracy' in new domains, such as technology or foreign languages.

5. Similar and Opposite Idioms

• Similar Idioms:
  • 胸无点墨 (xiōng wú diǎn mò): Literally 'having not a drop of ink in one's chest'; describing someone who lacks any learning or literary ability.
  • 不学无术 (bù xué wú shù): Having neither learning nor skills; being ignorant and incompetent.link
  • 一无所知 (yī wú suǒ zhī): To know nothing at all.link
• Opposite Idioms:
  • 学富五车 (xué fù wǔ chē): Literally 'knowledge enough to fill five carts'; describing someone who is extremely learned and wealthy in knowledge.link
  • 博览群书 (bó lǎn qún shū): To have read widely and possess vast knowledge across many books.
  • 出口成章 (chū kǒu chéng zhāng): To speak or write eloquently and fluently, with well-formed sentences.link

6. Summary

The idiom 目不识丁 (mù bù shí dīng) is used to describe total illiteracy. By highlighting an inability to recognize 丁 (dīng)—a character with only two strokes—it emphasizes a profound lack of basic education. Historically, it arose in a society that began to value scholarship over raw physical strength. In modern contexts, it can also be used metaphorically to describe being completely ignorant of a specific field of knowledge.