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見ず知らず (mizushirazu) Japanese meaning: strange | Kotomora
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から
突とつ
然ぜん
声こえ
を
かけ
られ
た
。
I was suddenly spoken to by a complete stranger.
I got lost in an unfamiliar place.
Usage patterns 見み ず 知し らずの 〈 人ひと 〉 a complete stranger (someone one has never met)
I was asked for directions by a complete stranger.
見み ず 知し らずの 他た 人にん a total stranger (emphatic collocation)
It's risky to lend money to a total stranger.
見み ず 知し らずの 〈 場ば 所しょ 〉 a completely unfamiliar place
I started living alone in a completely unfamiliar place.
Related words 見知らぬ is a plain prenominal adjective meaning 'unfamiliar' and needs no の, while 見ず知らずの is a set phrase used with の to modify a noun, often with a stronger emphasis on total unfamiliarity.
他人 simply means 'another person/stranger' without stressing prior non-acquaintance, whereas 見ず知らず specifically emphasizes that the person has never been seen or met before.
知らない is the general verb-based way to say 'don't know' (facts, places, people), while 見ず知らず is a fixed noun/adjective limited to people or places never before encountered.
Etymology Compound of 見ず (mizu, negative continuative of 見る 'to see') + 知らず (shirazu, negative continuative of 知る 'to know'), literally 'without having seen or known'. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the form is a fixed idiomatic expression.
