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不好 (bù hǎo) — not good; bad; poor; (before a verb) hard to; not easy to; difficult to

Definition

Adjective meaning 'not good / bad' in quality (东西不好), and, placed before a verb, meaning 'hard to / not easy to' (e.g. 这个问题不好解决 — this problem is hard to solve). Note the pinyin: 不 (bù) + 好, not bú.

adjective
not goodbadpoor(before a verb) hard tonot easy todifficult to

Examples

  • 不好。
    Zhè běn bù hǎo kàn.
    This book is not good-looking.
  • 不好。
    Chōu yān duì shēn tǐ bù hǎo.
    Smoking is bad for your health.
  • 不好。
    Zhè ge zì bù hǎo xiě.
    This character is hard to write.

Origin

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.

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

好 joins 女 (woman) and 子 (child), understood as a woman with a child, linked to goodness or affection.

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Appears in
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