无人问津
wú rén wèn jīn
nobody shows any interest; to be ignored
Character by character
无wú
no
no
人rén
one
one
问wèn
ask
ask
津jīn
ford
ford
Example
这套房子挂出去半年，一直无人问津。
The flat has been on the market for six months and nobody has shown any interest.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
问津 is to ask the way to the ford: 陶渊明’s 《桃花源记》 (lesson 6-24) ends 后遂无问津者, “after that, no one asked the way”. Now said of goods nobody buys, places nobody visits and talent nobody notices; the opposite is 门庭若市 or 抢手.
Learn this in Lesson 233 · HSK 9+: 横店的群演 (The extras of Hengdian)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. This lesson is free.
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