不利 (bù lì) — unfavorable, disadvantageous, harmful | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Used for situations, conditions, or factors that work against someone — not for things that are morally bad (that's 不良 or 有害). Direct opposite of 有利.

adjective

unfavorabledisadvantageousharmful

Examples

不利。
Zhè ge fāng àn duì gōng sī de fā zhǎn hěn bù lì.
This plan is unfavorable to the company's development.
不利。
Mù qián de jīng jì xíng shì duì tóu zī bù lì.
The current economic situation is unfavorable for investment.
不利。
Zhè zhǒng zhèng cè duì nóng mín hěn bù lì.
This policy is very disadvantageous to farmers.

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.

利lìadvantage

不 says not, and 利 means advantage, so it means unfavorable or harmful.

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.

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

禾禾hégrain
刀刀dāoknife

利 combines 禾 (grain) and 刀 (knife), showing a knife used to cut grain.

Appears in

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