不和 (bù hé) — to not get along well; to be discordant

Definition

不和 (bù hé) describes a state of poor or hostile relations between people or groups — 'not on good terms, at odds'. It focuses on the ongoing disharmony itself, not a specific quarrel (which would be 吵架).

verb
to not get along wellto be discordant

Examples

  • 不和,。
    Tā men fū qī cháng qī bù hé, zuì hòu lí hūn le.
    The couple didn't get along for a long time and eventually divorced.
  • 不和,。
    Zhè liǎng gè lín jū yīn wèi xiǎo shì bù hé, jiàn miàn dōu bù shuō huà.
    These two neighbors don't get along over small matters; they don't even speak when they meet.
  • 不和,。
    Tuán duì nèi bù bù hé, xiàng mù hěn nán tuī jìn.
    With internal discord in the team, the project is hard to move forward.

Origin

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.

和héharmonious/get along

不 (not) plus 和 (harmonious/get along) forms discord.

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.

Open 不 →

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
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
禾
禾hé和hé
Same sound today

和 pairs 禾, which gives the sound, with 口 (mouth), the meaning part; the reference connects this shape to harmony.

Open 和 →

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