不要紧 (bù yào jǐn) — unimportant; not serious; it doesn't matter

Definition

Used to dismiss a worry as 'not serious, it doesn't matter.' Closer to 没关系 (reassuring 'no problem') than to the weight/degree adjective 轻.

adjective

unimportantnot seriousit doesn't matter

不要紧，。
Zhè diǎn xiǎo shāng bù yào jǐn, hěn kuài jiù hǎo le.
This little injury is nothing serious; it will heal quickly.
，不要紧。
Nǐ wàng le dài shū yě méi guān xi, bù yào jǐn.
It's okay if you forgot to bring the book, it doesn't matter.
不要紧，。
bù yào jǐn, Wǒ zì jǐ néng zuò wán.
Never mind, I can finish it myself.

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.

要 began as a drawing of a person with both hands pointing to the waist.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 緊; 紧 is its simplified writing.

臤糸緊

Meaning part形符xíngfú

糸糸mì

Sound part声符shēngfú

臤

臤qiān緊jǐn

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 緊 pairs 糸 (thread) with 臤 as a sound part; the simplified 紧 is a later shorthand.

Appears in