不三不四 (bù sān bù sì) — dubious; shady; neither respectable nor proper…

Definition

A set phrase meaning 'shady, dubious' — used for a person's character, behavior, or words that seem improper. Often modifies a noun (不三不四的朋友 / 话).

verb

dubiousshadyneither respectable nor proper (of a person's character or behavior)

不三不四，。
Tā jiāo le yì bāng bù sān bù sì de péng you, jiā lǐ rén dōu hěn dān xīn.
He made friends with a bunch of shady people, and his family is very worried.
不三不四，。
Zhè ge rén bù sān bù sì de, bié gēn tā zǒu dé tài jìn.
This person is dubious—don't get too close to him.
不三不四，。
Nà zhǒng bù sān bù sì de huà, nǐ zuì hǎo shǎo shuō.
You'd better stop saying that kind of inappropriate talk.

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.

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

三 is drawn as three parallel strokes, like 一 with one stroke and 二 with two.

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.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 四 was drawn as a nose breathing out. It later came to be used for the word four.