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不够 (bù gòu) — not enough; insufficient; inadequate

Definition

不够 is the negation of 够 — 'not enough / not sufficiently.' Use it before verbs (不够买) or before adjectives (不够详细); for a more formal 'insufficient, lacking' tone, 不足 is the written alternative.

not enoughinsufficientinadequate

Examples

  • 不够。
    Zhè xiē qián bù gòu mǎi fáng zi.
    This money isn't enough to buy a house.
  • 不够。
    Nǐ de huí dá bù gòu xiáng xì.
    Your answer is not detailed enough.
  • 不够，。
    Shí jiān bù gòu le, wǒ men kuài zǒu ba.
    Time is running short; let's go now.

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
够gòuenough

不 negates 够 (enough), giving 'insufficient' or 'not enough'.

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 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 夠; 够 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
多多duō
Sound part声符shēngfú
句
句jù夠gòu
Same sound today

In the traditional form 夠, 多 is the part tied to the meaning and 句 is the part that gives the sound; the simplified 够 is a later shorthand.

Open 够 →
Appears in
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