not bad / pretty good / pretty close
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Results for “不”
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Exact character matches appear first. Pinyin matches whole syllables in headword pronunciations. Common exact readings come before common compounds, followed by less frequent or restricted readings. Direct English meanings rank ahead of mentions in longer definitions.
Frequency data from Cai & Brysbaert, SUBTLEX-CH (2010), Creative Commons Attribution. The data includes word forms with at least 10 occurrences in an older subtitle sample. Absence from the sample does not establish that a word is rare.
not work / be ineffective
fault / error
unfavorable / adverse
we will not elaborate on that (used as pluralis auctoris)
unwilling
regardless of what's before or after (idiom) / rushing blindly into sth
to give no consideration to the bigger picture (usually implying selfishness)
lit. to not show the mountain and to not reveal the water (idiom) / fig. to hide the key facts
otherworldly / detached from the mundane concerns of ordinary life
unsaturated
unsaturated fatty acid
no first use (policy for nuclear weapons) / NFU
(slang) would be better (abbr. for 這錢買排骨它不香嗎|这钱买排骨它不香吗[] for that money, a pork cutlet would be more appetizing, would it not?)
to not appear to be decent or respectful / shameful
(idiom) illiterate
lit. either don't do it, or don't rest (idiom) / fig. if you do it at all, you may as well go the whole hog / in for a penny, in for a pound
to not even take a penny (as a bribe)
to be getting worse with each generation
lit. one palm alone cannot clap (proverb) / fig. it takes two persons to start a dispute / it takes two to tango / it's difficult to achieve anything without support
gone forever
lit. you cannot get fat with only one mouthful (proverb) / fig. any significant achievement requires time, effort and persistence
lit. to reply "don't know" whatever the question (idiom) / fig. absolutely no idea of what's going on / complete ignorance
(idiom) word for word / verbatim / without a single mistake or omission
to not mention a single word (about sth) (idiom)
without missing a word
totally illiterate
lit. family members speak frankly with one another, not courteously, as if they were from two different families (idiom) / fig. people don't need to be deferential when they ask a family member for help / people from the same family should stick together (and good friends likewise)
lit. the mountain can't have two tigers (idiom) / fig. this town ain't big enough for the two of us / (of two rivals) to be fiercely competitive
worthless (idiom) / no use whatsoever
to be getting worse by the day
one day apart seems like three years (idiom)
(lit.) unwilling to spare a single hair (idiom) / (fig.) extremely stingy
lit. a full bottle makes no sound / a half-filled bottle sloshes (idiom) / fig. empty vessels make the most noise
to fall gravely ill, never to recover (idiom)
once it gets started there's no stopping it
to be impossible to stop once started
lit. not even one stroke is negligent (idiom) / fig. to write characters (calligraphy) in which every stroke is placed perfectly
not wearing one thread (idiom) / absolutely naked / without a stitch of clothing / in one's birthday suit
to keep totally silent / noiselessly
Definitions from CC-CEDICT · 125,326 source records · Release 2026-10-27