missing / lost
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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.
(idiom) variable / uneven / irregular
see 又要馬兒跑，又要馬兒不吃草|又要马儿跑，又要马儿不吃草[]
lit. you can't expect the horse to run fast but not let it graze (idiom) / fig. you can't have your cake and eat it, too
limitless supply (of) / inexhaustible
to say one thing but mean another / to dissimulate
to speak incoherently / to ramble / to talk irresponsibly
to lisp / unclear articulation / inarticulate
can be understood, but not described (idiom, from Zhuangzi 莊子|庄子[]) / mysterious and subtle
to know the first, but not know the second (idiom) / only partial information
can't see the wood for the trees
only the official is allowed to light the fire / Gods may do what cattle may not / quod licet Iovi, non licet bovi
to be all talk and no action
to complain without stopping (idiom) / to bitch endlessly / incessant grievances
may be done once and once only / just this once
(coll.) exactly! / indeed / that's for sure
can be understood, but not described (idiom, from Zhuangzi 莊子|庄子[]) / mysterious and subtle
(idiom) in sight but beyond reach / unattainable / inaccessible
can be discovered but not sought (idiom) / one can only come across such things serendipitously
unable to get anything to eat / to miss a meal
not feel like eating / be unable to eat any more
lit. if you can't eat it all, you'll have to take it home (idiom) / fig. you'll have to take the consequences
to be unable to bear or support
to be unaccustomed to certain food / to not be keen on certain food
sour grapes (set expr. based on Aesop) / lit. to say grapes are sour when you can't eat them
not be accustomed to eating sth / not be used to certain food
to be unsure about a matter / to be uncertain / to be unable to make sense of sth
be unpopular / won't work
ruthless / vicious and greedy
lit. bread previously chewed by someone has no flavor (idiom) / fig. there's no joy in discovering something if someone else got there first
arduous and thankless task (idiom) / strenuous and unrewarding
(lit.) if you were eating warm shit, it'd be stone cold by the time you finished it (saying) / (fig.) (of a person) too slow / can't keep up
Drinking the water of a well, one should never forget who dug it. (idiom)
susceptible to force but not persuasion
to eat without working (idiom) / to take one's pay and not care about the rest
lit. eats soft food, but refuses hard food (idiom) / amenable to coaxing but not coercion
to be quite varied / each one is different
unable to conceal one's happiness, amazement, shock etc / grinning from ear to ear / mouth agape / gobsmacked
the name does not reflect the reality (idiom) / more in name than in fact / Reality does not live up to the name. / Excellent theory, but the practice does not bear it out.
(of a title, degree etc) illegitimately conferred
Definitions from CC-CEDICT · 125,326 source records · Release 2026-10-27