1.
unfamiliar; unknown; strange (person or place)
An adnominal meaning 'unknown' or 'unfamiliar,' placed directly before a noun. Most often describes a person one has never met.
見知らぬ人に道を聞かれた。
A stranger asked me for directions.
見知らぬ土地で不安になった。
I felt uneasy in an unfamiliar place.
夜道で見知らぬ男に声をかけられて、思わず足が止まった。
A strange man called out to me on the dark road, and I instinctively froze.
A 連体詞 (pre-noun adjectival): it appears only directly before a noun and does not conjugate. Literally 'not having seen and come to know.'
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 見知らぬ人: a stranger; an unknown person
- 見知らぬ土地: an unfamiliar place
- 見知らぬ顔: an unfamiliar face
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 知らない人: someone one doesn't know — more everyday and conversational
- 見知らぬ is slightly more literary, common in narration and writing