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划不来 (huá bu lái) — not worth it, not worthwhile

Definition

Colloquial 'not worth it' — the everyday opposite of 划得来 ('worth it'). Shares meaning with 冤枉 when judging an action regrettable, but 划不来 focuses purely on cost vs. benefit, not on being wronged.

adjective
not worth itnot worthwhile

Examples

  • ，划不来。
    Wèi le zhè diǎn xiǎo shì huā nà me duō shí jiān, shí zài huá bu lái.
    Spending so much time on such a trivial matter really isn't worth it.
  • ，，划不来？
    Zuò fēi jī qù zhǐ yào liǎng xiǎo shí, dàn huǒ chē piào pián yi hěn duō, nǐ jué de nǎ ge huá bu lái?
    Going by plane only takes two hours, but the train ticket is much cheaper — which do you think is worth it?
  • ，，划不来。
    Tā wèi le jiǎn féi měi tiān zhī chī yí dùn fàn, shēn tǐ dōu gǎo huài le, tài huá bu lái le.
    He only eats one meal a day to lose weight, and it's ruined his health — it's really not worth it.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

划huàcalculate
不来not come out
不bùnot来láicome
偏正Modifier + head

划 means calculate, and 不来 says it does not come out, hence not worthwhile.

Characters in this word

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
刀刀dāo
Sound part声符shēngfú
戈
戈gē划huá
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

划 is made of 刀, a knife, and 戈, a weapon. The 戈 part gives the sound.

Open 划 →

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 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 來; 来 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 來 shows a wheat plant: a central ear, upward leaves, and downward stem and roots. The simplified 来 is a later shorthand.

Open 来 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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