半通不通

bàntōngbùtōng
to not fully understand (idiom)

CEDICT

Entry Composition

1 半 bàn
  1. half
  2. semi-
  3. incomplete
  4. (after a number) and a half
2 通 tōng
  1. to go through
  2. to know well
  3. (suffix) expert
  4. to connect
  5. to communicate
  6. open
  7. to clear
  8. classifier for letters, telegrams, phone calls etc
3 不通 bùtōng
  1. to be obstructed
  2. to be blocked up
  3. to be impassable
  4. to make no sense
  5. to be illogical

Related entries

半懂不懂 bàndǒngbùdǒng
  1. to not fully understand
  2. to only partly understand