不拘 (bù jū) — to not stick to, to not be bound by; to regardless of, to set no limit to

Definition

不拘 (bùjū) means 'not bound by / regardless of' — a formal/literary verb, often paired with a noun (e.g. 不拘一格, 不拘小节) to say a rule or form can be set aside. Distinct from the colloquial 不管, which means 'no matter (who/what)' in concessive clauses.

verb
to not stick toto not be bound byto regardless ofto set no limit to

Examples

  • ，。
    Tā xiě zuò fēng gé bù jū yì gé, fēi cháng dú tè.
    His writing style isn't confined to one pattern — it's very unique.
  • 不拘，。
    Zhè ge jì huà bù jū xíng shì, zhī kàn jié guǒ.
    This plan sets no limit on form, only cares about results.
  • ，。
    Tā shì gè bù jū xiǎo jié de rén, cóng lái bú jì chóu.
    He's a person who doesn't fuss over small things — never holds a grudge.

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
拘jūbind

不 means 'not' and 拘 means 'bind', so the whole says not bound by limits.

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
扌Written in full as手shǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
句
句jù拘jū
Same sound today

The left part of 拘 is 扌, the hand form written in full as 手; the right part 句 gives the sound jù.

Open 拘 →

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