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不过 (bù guò) — (conjunction) but, however; (adverb) only, merely, no more than (used before a number or quantity); (adverb) cannot be more, extremely (used after an adjective in the pattern 最+Adj+不过了)

Definition

不过 works as both a connector and a limiter. As "but/however" it's the most casual, spoken choice — lighter than 但是 or 然而. As "only/merely" it precedes a number; as a post-adjective intensifier (Adj+不过了) it means "couldn't be more Adj."

conjunction
buthowever
adverb
onlymerelyno more than (used before a number or quantity)cannot be moreextremely (used after an adjective in the pattern 最+Adj+不过了)

Examples

  • ，不过。
    Wǒ xiǎng qù, bù guò tài máng le.
    I want to go, but I'm too busy.
  • 不过。
    Tā bù guò èr shí suì.
    He is only twenty years old.
  • 不过。
    Zhè ge wèn tí jiǎn dān bù guò le.
    This question couldn't be simpler.

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
过guòpass; exceed

不 negates 过, meaning not beyond a limit; hence merely or but.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 過; 过 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辵辵chuòwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
咼
咼wāi過guò
Same sound today

The traditional form 過 pairs 辵 (walk) with 咼 as a sound component; the simplified 过 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 过 →

Grammar

Appears in
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