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不休 (bù xiū) — endlessly, without stopping (used as a complement after verbs)

Definition

不休 (bùxiū) is a verb complement meaning 'without stopping, endlessly' — it always follows another verb (争论不休, 争吵不休), never stands alone.

verb
endlesslywithout stopping (used as a complement after verbs)

Examples

  • ，。
    Tā men zhēng lùn bù xiū, shuí yě shuō fú bù liǎo shuí.
    They argued endlessly, neither able to convince the other.
  • 不休，。
    Liǎng rén wéi zhè jiàn shì zhēng chǎo bù xiū, zuì hòu bù huān ér sàn.
    The two quarreled endlessly over this matter and finally parted on bad terms.
  • 不休，。
    Shuāng fāng zài huì yì shàng biàn lùn bù xiū, méi yǒu dá chéng rèn hé xié yì.
    The two sides debated endlessly at the meeting without reaching any agreement.

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
休xiūcease

不 says not, and 休 says cease, so the idea is never stopping.

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 →

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

休 pairs 人 (man) with 木 (tree), showing a person leaning against a tree to rest.

Open 休 →
Appears in
Frequency & Duration

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