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不亚于 (bù yà yú) — not inferior to, no less than

Definition

Affirms that A is just as good as B — 'no less than, not inferior to.' Unlike 不如, which says A is WORSE than B, 不亚于 says A is at least as good. Synonymous with 不及 but more formal.

verb
not inferior tono less than

Examples

  • 不亚于。
    Tā de néng lì bù yà yú jīng lǐ.
    His ability is no less than that of the manager.
  • 不亚于。
    Zhè ge chéng shì de yè jǐng bù yà yú shàng hǎi.
    The night view of this city is not inferior to Shanghai's.
  • 不亚于。
    Tā de gē shēng bù yà yú zhuān yè gē shǒu.
    Her singing voice is as good as that of a professional singer.

Origin

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

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A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 亞; 亚 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 亞 likely shows an overhead view of a construction, perhaps a 亞-shaped tomb. Its later simplified form 亚 is just a shorthand.

Open 亚 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 一一yīflat stream of air
  • 丂丂kǎoto exhale

The old shape of 于 may have pictured an ancient wind instrument. Another explanation reads 一 as a flat stream of air and 丂 as an exhaling mark.

Open 于 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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