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Meaning

to my limited knowledge

A humble preface used when saying one does not know something, putting it down to one's own narrow learning.

Example

寡聞にして、そのような規則があるとは存じませんでした。

In my limited knowledge, I was not aware that any such rule existed.

Origin

Kabun (寡聞) means having heard and seen little. The Jitsū dictionary gives as its source a passage in the Xueji chapter of the Book of Rites (Liji) saying that one who studies alone without friends will have narrow knowledge. In Japan an early example is in Kūkai's Sangō Shiiki (around 797).

Sources