Definition
不尽 has two related functional uses: (1) as part of fixed expressions like 感激不尽 (beyond grateful) or 不尽长江 (endless river) to mean 'endless' or 'inexhaustible'; (2) before adjectives or verbs to mean 'not completely' or 'not entirely', as in 不尽相同 (not exactly the same) or 不尽合理 (not fully reasonable). A third use is as an intensifier before 感激, similar to 'very' in 'very grateful.' The HSK POS marks it as an attribute ('attr.'), but in practice it rarely acts as a standalone modifier and appears mostly in fixed two-character phrases.
attr.
endlessinexhaustible (in fixed phrases like 感激不尽)not completelynot entirely (before adjectives/verbs, e.g. 不尽相同)
Examples
- ，。Nín bāng le wǒ zhème duō, wǒ gǎnjī bú jìn.You've helped me so much; I'm extremely grateful.
- 不尽，。Zhè liǎng běn shū de nèiróng bú jìn xiāngtóng, gè yǒu cèzhòng.The content of these two books is not exactly the same; each has its own emphasis.
- 不尽，。Tā de shuōfǎ bú jìn zhèngquè, xūyào zài héshí.His statement is not entirely correct; it needs further verification.
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