不易 (bù yì) — not easy; difficult; (literary) unchanging; con… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Literary adjective for 'not easy; hard to do', stronger and more formal than the everyday 难. Also used in the written sense 'unchanging, constant'.

adjective

not easydifficult(literary) unchangingconstant

Examples

不易，。
Zhè jiàn shì bù yì zuò, xū yào huā hěn duō shí jiān.
This matter is not easy to do; it requires a lot of time.
不易，。
Xué xí yì zhǒng xīn yǔ yán bù yì, dàn jiān chí xià qù jiù huì yǒu shōu huò.
Learning a new language is not easy, but if you persist you will gain something.
不易。
Tā duì péng you de ài shǐ zhōng bù yì.
His love for friends has always been unchanging.

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.

易yìeasy; change

不 says not and 易 can mean easy or change, giving not easy or constant.

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.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The early form of 易 was a drawing of a filled container, not a chameleon. It showed something full that could be given out.

Appears in

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