不外乎 (bú) — nothing more than, boils down to, not beyond the scope of
Definition
A formal written phrase meaning 'boils down to' or 'nothing more than' — used to summarize or limit something to a small set of possibilities (often followed by a number: 不外乎两点).
verb
nothing more thanboils down tonot beyond the scope of
Examples
- 不外乎:、、。Tā shī bài de yuán yīn bú nà jǐ zhǒng: bú gòu nǔ lì, fāng fǎ bú duì, yùn qì bù hǎo.The reasons for his failure boil down to a few: not working hard enough, wrong method, and bad luck.
- 不外乎:。Wèn tí de hé xīn bú yí gè: rú hé tí gāo xiào lǜ.The core of the problem is nothing more than one thing: how to improve efficiency.
- 不外乎:。Zhè xiē jiàn yì de nèi róng bú liǎng diǎn: jié yuē chéng běn hé tí gāo zhì liàng.The content of these suggestions boils down to two points: cutting costs and improving quality.
Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.