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不菲 (bù fěi) — considerable, not low (of cost, quantity, or status)

Definition

Literary adjective used before cost, yield, or status to mean 'considerable, not low' — a written/elevated alternative to the plain 高 or 多. Stronger in tone and restricted to formal contexts.

adjective
considerablenot low (of cost, quantity, or status)

Examples

  • 不菲。
    Zhè tào jiā jù jià gé bù fěi.
    This set of furniture costs a considerable amount.
  • 不菲，。
    Jīn nián liáng shi shōu cheng bù fěi, nóng mín dōu hěn gāo xìng.
    This year's grain harvest is bountiful, and the farmers are very happy.
  • 不菲，。
    Tā zài gōng sī dì wèi bù fěi, shuō huà hěn yǒu fèn liàng.
    His status in the company is high, and his words carry weight.

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
菲fēimeager

不 reverses 菲, giving a sense of not low or meager.

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 →

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
艹Written in full as艸cǎograss; plant
Sound part声符shēngfú
非
非fēi菲fěi
Same sound today

菲 puts 艹, showing a plant, together with 非, which gives its sound.

Open 菲 →
Appears in
Quantity & Amount

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