---
title: "Buzhibujue Meaning: 不知不觉 (bùzhī-bùjué) in English"
description: "不知不觉 (traditional 不知不覺, bùzhī-bùjué) means “without realizing it; before one knows it”. Hear its tones, see what 不 and 知 and 不 and 觉 each mean and a real sentence that uses it."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/buzhibujue"
published: "2026-10-21"
updated: "2026-11-06"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

[What does it mean in Chinese?](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning)

# What does 不知不觉 mean?

猫头鹰māotóuyīngowl

不知不觉 bùzhī-bùjué

## without realizing it; before one knows it

## Its characters

1. 不 bù not
2. 知 zhī to know
3. 不 bù not
4. 觉 jué to feel

## In a sentence

不知不觉，天已经黑了。 Before we knew it, it was already dark.

从此，孙悟空在洞中住了下来，每天扫地、挑水、种菜，**不知不觉**就过了七年。

From [拜师学艺 · A Teacher Across the Sea](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/a-teacher-across-the-sea-journey-to-the-west-intermediate-chinese-2#library-word-828-832)

[More about 不知不觉](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E4%B8%8D%E7%9F%A5%E4%B8%8D%E8%A7%89)

## More words with 不 or 知 or 觉

- [必不可少 bìbùkěshǎo](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/bibukeshao)
- [不安 bù’ān](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/buan)
- [不必 bùbì](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/bubi)
- [不便 bùbiàn](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/bubian)
- [不曾 bùcéng](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/buceng)
- [不成 bùchéng](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/bucheng)
- [不错 bùcuò](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/bucuo)
- [不但 bùdàn](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/budan)
- [不当 bùdàng](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/budang)
- [不得 bùdé](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/bude)

## Keep 不知不觉 for Review

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[All 214 Chinese radicals](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-radicals)

[How it compares with Pleco](https://mandarinthewild.com/compare/pleco)