見み知しらぬ

み

し

ら

ぬ

Common wordJLPTN2Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

pre-noun adjectival

Pre-noun adjectival (rentaishi) meaning 'not known by sight'; used for people, places, or things one has never seen before. Often carries a nuance of slight unease or foreignness.

見み知しらぬ人ひとが玄げん関かんに立たっていた。
A stranger was standing at the front door.
彼かれは見み知しらぬ土と地ちで道みちに迷まよった。
He got lost in an unfamiliar town.

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Usage patterns

見み知しらぬ人ひとa stranger; a person one has never seen before
見み知しらぬ人ひとに道みちを尋たずねられた。
A stranger asked me for directions.
見み知しらぬ土と地ちan unfamiliar place or land
見み知しらぬ土と地ちで一人ひとり暮ぐらしを始はじめた。
I started living alone in an unfamiliar place.
見み知しらぬ顔かおan unfamiliar face
教きょう室しつに見み知しらぬ顔かおがあった。
There was an unfamiliar face in the classroom.

Kanji

見see, hopes, chances
知know, wisdom

Related words

知しらない
知らない is a general word for 'not knowing' facts, people, or information, while 見知らぬ specifically means 'never seen before' and only modifies nouns.
未み知ちN1
未知 is a noun for 'the unknown' in an abstract or scientific sense, while 見知らぬ is a pre-noun adjective describing something concrete one has never seen before.
見みず知しらずN1
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.

Don't confuse with

人ひと見み知しりN2
人見知り means being shy or wary around strangers (a noun/behavior), while 見知らぬ is an adjective meaning 'unfamiliar, never seen before' used to describe people or things.

Etymology

Compound of 見 (mi, 'see') + 知らぬ (shiranu, classical negative of 知る 'know'). Literally 'not know by seeing', it fossilized as a pre-noun adjectival.