不入流 (bú rù liú) — not up to standard; unrefined; not in the mains…

Definition

Means 'not up to standard' or 'not in the mainstream' — used to judge a person, work, or product as lowbrow or substandard.

verb

not up to standardunrefinednot in the mainstream

不入流。
Tā de pǐn wèi tài bú rù liú le.
His taste is too lowbrow.
不入流。
Zhè zhǒng xiǎo shuō hěn duō rén dōu jué de bú rù liú.
Many people think this kind of novel is lowbrow.
不入流，。
Bié mǎi nà xiē bú rù liú de chǎn pǐn, zhì liàng bù hǎo.
Don't buy those substandard products; the quality is poor.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

入流enter the mainstream

动宾Verb + object

'不' denies '入流', entering the mainstream, giving a sense of falling below standard.

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.

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

入 is drawn as an arrowhead, indicating 'to enter'.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

㐬

㐬㐬流liú

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

流 has 水, water, and 㐬, which gives the sound. The water part matches meanings such as flow.

Appears in