靠不住 (kào bu zhù) — unreliable; undependable; not to be trusted | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Colloquial adjective meaning 'unreliable, can't be trusted' (people, things, promises). It is the opposite of 可靠; the informal opposite of 可靠.

adjective

unreliableundependablenot to be trusted

Examples

，靠不住。
Zhè ge rén shuō dà huà, kào bu zhù de.
This person talks big — he's unreliable.
，靠不住。
Nà tái jiù diàn nǎo lǎo shì sǐ jī, shí zài kào bu zhù.
That old computer keeps crashing — it's really undependable.
靠不住，。
Tā de chéng nuò cóng lái dōu kào bu zhù, bié dàng zhēn.
His promises have never been reliable — don't take them seriously.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

不住cannot hold

不bùnot住zhùhold

偏正Modifier + head

Rely plus not hold gives the sense of something that cannot be trusted.

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.

告非靠

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

告

告gào靠kào

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

靠 is made of 告 and 非: 告 gives the sound, and 非 gives the meaning.

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.

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

亻主住

Meaning part形符xíngfú

亻Written in full as人rén

Sound part声符shēngfú

主

主zhǔ住zhù

Same sound today

住 pairs 亻, the person radical (written fully as 人), with 主, which supplies the sound.

Appears in

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