TongTong
Sign in

买不起 (mǎi bù qǐ) — cannot afford (to buy)

Definition

买不起 (mǎi bu qǐ) is a result complement of 买 ('buy'): the 不 negates and 起 marks that the purchase is beyond one's means. Used for prices the speaker cannot pay.

verb
cannot afford (to buy)

Examples

  • ，买不起。
    Zhè tào fáng zi tài guì le, wǒ mǎi bù qǐ.
    This apartment is too expensive; I can't afford it.
  • ，买不起。
    Tā yí gè yuè gōng zī nà me shǎo, gēn běn mǎi bù qǐ míng pái bāo.
    Her monthly salary is so low that she simply can't afford designer bags.
  • ，买不起。
    Dāng nián wǒ men jiā qióng, lián yì běn zì diǎn dōu mǎi bù qǐ.
    In those days my family was poor; we couldn't even afford a dictionary.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 買; 买 is its simplified writing.

In the traditional form 買, 网 is a net and 貝 is a money cowrie.

Open 买 →

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
走走zǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
巳
巳sì起qǐ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

起 is made from 走 and 巳: 走 is the part connected with walking or running, and 巳 gives the sound.

Open 起 →
Appears in
Money & Currency

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.