不好惹 (bù hǎo rě) — not to be pushed around; not to be trifled with…

Definition

adjective

not to be pushed aroundnot to be trifled withformidable

不好惹，。
Nà ge rén bù hǎo rě, nǐ zuì hǎo xiǎo xīn diǎn.
That person is not to be trifled with; you'd better be careful.
，不好惹。
Tā suī rán kàn qǐ lái wēn róu, dàn qí shí hěn bù hǎo rě.
Although she looks gentle, she's actually not to be messed with.
不好惹，。
Dà jiā dōu zhī dào tā bù hǎo rě, méi rén gǎn gēn tā chǎo jià.
Everyone knows he's not to be pushed around; no one dares to argue with him.

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.

女子好

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

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Appears in