不尽然 (bú jìn rán) — not quite so; not entirely the case

Definition

Used to soften a statement: 'not entirely so / not quite the case.' A more formal, written alternative to 并不是 with a concessive tone, often followed by 像…一样 or a contrastive clause.

not quite sonot entirely the case

Examples

，不尽然。
Tā shuō zhè shì zuì hǎo de bàn fǎ, dàn wǒ rèn wéi bú jìn rán.
He says this is the best solution, but I don't quite think so.
，不尽然。
Suī rán dà duō shù rén dōu tóng yì, dàn bú jìn rán.
Although most people agree, that's not entirely true.
不尽然。
Shì qing bìng bú bú jìn rán xiàng nǐ xiǎng xiàng de nà me jiǎn dān.
Things are not quite as simple as you imagine.

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

尽然completely so

尽jìncompletely然ránso

偏正Modifier + head

不 says not, and 尽然 says completely so, giving the sense of not quite so.

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 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 盡; 尽 is its simplified writing.

聿聿yùhand holding a brush
灬灬huǒbristles
皿皿mǐndish

The traditional form 盡 shows 聿 (hand holding a brush) and 灬 (bristles) over 皿 (dish), cleaning a dish until it is empty. The simplified 尽 is a shorthand, not those historical parts.

Open 尽 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú

火火huǒfire

Sound part声符shēngfú

肰

肰rán然rán

Same sound today

然 is made from 肰, which gives the sound, and 火, which shows fire, matching the old sense 'to burn'.

Open 然 →

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