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人生地不熟

rén shēng dì bù shúdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
to be a stranger in a strange land (idiom) / in an unfamiliar place without friends or family
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-343afd2e23341776. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

人生地不熟 人生地不熟 [ren2 sheng1 di4 bu4 shu2] /to be a stranger in a strange land (idiom)/in an unfamiliar place without friends or family/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

  • 人
  • 生
    shēng

    to grow / to give birth / to produce / to be born / to arise / to occur / to light (a fire) / to live / to be alive / life / raw / uncooked / unprocessed / unfamiliar / strange / (bound form) student / person engaged in a field / (bound form) male role in traditional opera / (bound form) life / lifetime / (bound form) means of livelihood / (bound form) very / intensely (as in 生疼[shēng téng]) / (bound form) in a forced manner (as in 生拉硬拽[shēng lā yìng zhuài])

  • 地
    de

    -ly / structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunct

    dì

    earth / ground / field / place / land / CL:片[piàn]

  • 不
    bù

    no / not so / (bound form) not / un-

  • 熟
    shú

    ripe / mature / thoroughly cooked / done / familiar / acquainted / experienced / skilled / (of sleep etc) deep / profound / also pr. [shóu]

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.