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不屑 (bù xiè) — to disdain to do something; to consider something beneath one's dignity

Definition

不屑 is 'to consider beneath one's dignity' — focuses on refusing to act because the act is too low for one's status. Stronger and more about self-image than 鄙视, which is straight contempt.

verb
to disdain to do somethingto consider something beneath one's dignity
Easily confused

Examples

  • 不屑。
    Tā bù xiè huí dá zhè zhǒng wú liáo de wèn tí.
    He disdains to answer such boring questions.
  • 。
    Tā duì nà ge tí yì bù xiè yí gù.
    She dismissed that proposal with disdain.
  • 不屑。
    Wǒ bù xiè wèi le qián zuò zì jǐ bù xǐ huan de shì.
    I disdain to do things I don't like for money.

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
屑xièconsider worth doing

不 ('not') with 屑 ('consider worth doing') means 'not consider something worth doing'.

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 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 屑 →

Grammar

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Attitudes & Opinions

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