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不尽 (bù jìn) — endless; inexhaustible (in fixed phrases like 感激不尽); not completely; not entirely (before adjectives/verbs, e.g. 不尽相同)

Definition

A formal/written adjective with two main uses: in fixed phrases like 感激不尽, it means 'endless' (as in inexhaustible gratitude); before another adjective or verb (不尽相同), it softens the word to 'not entirely / not completely'.

adjective
endlessinexhaustible (in fixed phrases like 感激不尽)not completelynot entirely (before adjectives/verbs, e.g. 不尽相同)

Examples

  • ，。
    Nín bāng le wǒ zhè me duō, wǒ gǎn jī bù jìn.
    You've helped me so much; I'm extremely grateful.
  • 不尽，。
    Zhè liǎng běn shū de nèi róng bù jìn xiāng tóng, gè yǒu cè zhòng.
    The content of these two books is not exactly the same; each has its own emphasis.
  • 不尽，。
    Tā de shuō fǎ bù jìn zhèng què, xū yào zài hé shí.
    His statement is not entirely correct; it needs further verification.

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.

不bùnot
尽jìnexhaust

不 'not' and 尽 'exhaust' combine to mean endless or not fully.

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 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 盡; 尽 is its simplified writing.

  • 聿聿yùhand holding a brush
  • 灬灬huǒbristles
  • 皿皿mǐndish

The traditional form 盡 shows 聿 (hand holding a brush) and 灬 (bristles) over 皿 (dish), cleaning a dish until it is empty. The simplified 尽 is a shorthand, not those historical parts.

Open 尽 →
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