毫不客气 (háo bù kè qi) — without any politeness; unrestrained; bluntly

Definition

An adverbial phrase meaning 'without holding back, bluntly' — used when criticizing or rejecting someone directly. Note: 客气 by itself means 'polite', so 毫不客气 = 'not polite at all'.

verb
without any politenessunrestrainedbluntly

Examples

  • 毫不客气。
    Tā duì wǒ de jiàn yì háo bù kè qi dì pī píng le yí dùn.
    He criticized my suggestion without any politeness.
  • 毫不客气。
    Tā háo bù kè qi dì zhǐ chū le wǒ de cuò wù.
    He pointed out my mistake bluntly.
  • 毫不客气。
    Tā háo bù kè qi dì jù jué le duì fāng de qǐng qiú.
    She refused the other party's request without any politeness.

Origin

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

The written form 毫 is built from 高 and 毛.

Open 毫 →

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
宀宀miánroof
Sound part声符shēngfú
各
各gè客kè
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 客, 宀 is a roof and 各 gives the sound; the character meant a guest.

Open 客 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 氣; 气 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
米米mǐrice
Sound part声符shēngfú
气
气qì氣qì
Same sound today

The traditional form 氣 pairs 米 (rice) with 气, which supplies the sound; the simplified 气 is a later abbreviation.

Open 气 →

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