一知半解
yī zhī bàn jiě
Pinyin

Definition

一知半解
 - 
yī zhī bàn jiě
  1. lit. to know one and understand half (idiom); a smattering of knowledge
  2. dilettante
  3. amateur

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

一
yī
  1. 1 one
  2. 2 1
  3. 3 single
  4. 4 a (article)
  5. 5 as soon as
  6. 6 entire
  7. 7 whole
  8. 8 all
  9. 9 throughout
  10. 10 "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1)
  11. 11 also pr. [yāo] for greater clarity when spelling out numbers digit by digit
一下
yī xià
  1. 1 (used after a verb) give it a go
  2. 2 to do (sth for a bit to give it a try)
  3. 3 one time
  4. 4 once
  5. 5 in a while
  6. 6 all of a sudden
  7. 7 all at once
一样
yī yàng
  1. 1 same
  2. 2 like
  3. 3 equal to
  4. 4 the same as
  5. 5 just like
一起
yī qǐ
  1. 1 in the same place
  2. 2 together
  3. 3 with
  4. 4 altogether (in total)
知道
zhī dào
  1. 1 to know
  2. 2 to become aware of
  3. 3 also pr. [zhī dao]
第一
dì yī
  1. 1 first
  2. 2 number one
  3. 3 primary
一一
yī yī
  1. 1 one by one
  2. 2 one after another
一下子
yī xià zi
  1. 1 in a short while
  2. 2 all at once
  3. 3 all of a sudden
一些
yī xiē
  1. 1 some
  2. 2 a few
  3. 3 a little
  4. 4 (following an adjective) slightly ...er
一共
yī gòng
  1. 1 altogether
一再
yī zài
  1. 1 repeatedly
一切
yī qiè
  1. 1 everything
  2. 2 every
  3. 3 all
一半
yī bàn
  1. 1 half
一口气
yī kǒu qì
  1. 1 one breath
  2. 2 in one breath
  3. 3 at a stretch
一同
yī tóng
  1. 1 along
  2. 2 together
一味
yī wèi
  1. 1 blindly
  2. 2 invariably
一呼百应
yī hū bǎi yìng
  1. 1 a hundred answers to a single call (idiom)
  2. 2 to respond en masse
一塌糊涂
yī tā hú tu
  1. 1 muddled and completely collapsing (idiom); in an awful condition
  2. 2 complete shambles
  3. 3 a total mess
一大早
yī dà zǎo
  1. 1 at dawn
  2. 2 at first light
  3. 3 first thing in the morning
一如既往
yī rú jì wǎng
  1. 1 just as in the past (idiom); as before
  2. 2 continuing as always

Idioms (20)

一不做，二不休
yī bù zuò , èr bù xiū
  1. 1 don't do it, or don't rest (idiom); either give up, or go through to the end
  2. 2 Since we started, we must carry it through whatever happens.
  3. 3 in for a penny, in for a pound
一丘之貉
yī qiū zhī hé
  1. 1 jackals of the same tribe (idiom); fig. They are all just as bad as each other.
一之为甚
yī zhī wéi shèn
  1. 1 once is more than enough (idiom)
一干二净
yī gān èr jìng
  1. 1 thoroughly (idiom)
  2. 2 completely
  3. 3 one and all
  4. 4 very clean
一五一十
yī wǔ yī shí
  1. 1 lit. count by fives and tens (idiom); to narrate systematically and in full detail
一人得道，鸡犬升天
yī rén dé dào , jī quǎn shēng tiān
  1. 1 lit. when a man achieves the Dao, his poultry and dogs rise to Heaven (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. to ride on sb else's success
  3. 3 Once one man gets a government position, all his cronies get in too
  4. 4 Once sb has cracked the problem, every Tom, Dick and Harry can do it
一个天南，一个地北
yī ge tiān nán , yī ge dì běi
  1. 1 to live miles apart (idiom)
一个萝卜一个坑
yī gè luó bo yī gè kēng
  1. 1 lit. every turnip to its hole (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. each person has his own position
  3. 3 each to his own
  4. 4 horses for courses
  5. 5 every kettle has its lid
一倡三叹
yī chàng sān tàn
  1. 1 (of literature, music) deeply moving (idiom)
一传十，十传百
yī chuán shí , shí chuán bǎi
  1. 1 news pass quickly from mouth to mouth (idiom)
  2. 2 an infectious disease spreads quickly (old meaning)
一元复始
yī yuán fù shǐ
  1. 1 a new year begins (idiom)
一刀两断
yī dāo liǎng duàn
  1. 1 lit. two segments with a single cut (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. to make a clean break (idiom)
一刀切
yī dāo qiē
  1. 1 lit. to cut all at one stroke (idiom); to impose uniformity
  2. 2 one solution fits a diversity of problems
  3. 3 one size fits all
一分一毫
yī fēn yī háo
  1. 1 a tiny bit (idiom)
  2. 2 an iota
一分为二
yī fēn wéi èr
  1. 1 one divides into two
  2. 2 to be two-sided
  3. 3 there are two sides to everything
  4. 4 to see both sb's good points and shortcomings (idiom)
一切就绪
yī qiè jiù xù
  1. 1 everything in its place and ready (idiom)
一则以喜，一则以忧
yī zé yǐ xǐ , yī zé yǐ yōu
  1. 1 happy on the one hand, but worried on the other (idiom)
一反常态
yī fǎn cháng tài
  1. 1 complete change from the normal state (idiom); quite uncharacteristic
  2. 2 entirely outside the norm
  3. 3 out of character
一呼百应
yī hū bǎi yìng
  1. 1 a hundred answers to a single call (idiom)
  2. 2 to respond en masse
一呼百诺
yī hū bǎi nuò
  1. 1 one command brings a hundred responses (idiom); having hundreds of attendants at one's beck and call

Sample Sentences

听说过，但对它们还是一知半解。只知道他们对创业很有帮助。
tīngshuō guo ，dàn duì tāmen háishì yīzhībànjiě 。zhǐ zhīdào tāmen duì chuàngyè hěn yǒu bāngzhù 。
I have heard of them, but I still don't have much knowledge of them. I just know they help a lot with starting new businesses.
Go to Lesson 
虽然我感觉对禅还是一知半解，不过爸爸你讲的故事真有意思，我还想听。
suīrán wǒ gǎnjué duì chán háishì yīzhībànjiě ，bùguò bàba nǐ jiǎng de gùshi zhēn yǒu yìsi ，wǒ hái xiǎng tīng 。
Even though I feel like I still don't totally get it, I think the stories you told are really fun, dad. I want to hear more.
Go to Lesson