行 不 通

xíng bu tōngdictionary entry

won't work / will get (you) nowhere

Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-134f44c7357e0f6e. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

行不通行不通 [xing2 bu5 tong1] /won't work/will get (you) nowhere/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

行
háng
(bound form) row / line / (bound form) line of business / trade / profession / (bound form) commercial firm / (bound form) to rank (first, second etc) among one's siblings (by age) / (in data tables) row / (Tw) column / classifier for rows or lines
héng
used in 道行[dào héng]
xíng
(bound form) to walk / to go / to travel / (literary) trip / journey / visit / (bound form) temporary / makeshift / (bound form) current / in circulation / (bound form) to do / to perform / capable / competent / all right / OK! / will do / behavior / conduct (Taiwan pr. [xìng]) / (literary) about to / soon
不
bù
no / not so / (bound form) not / un-
通
tōng
to go through / to know well / (suffix) expert / to connect / to communicate / open / to clear / classifier for letters, telegrams, phone calls etc
tòng
classifier for an activity, taken in its entirety (tirade of abuse, stint of music playing, bout of drinking etc)

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.