吃不开 (chī bu kāi) — to be unpopular; to not work (of ideas, methods, behaviors)

Definition

Used when an idea, method, style, or attitude fails to be accepted or doesn't 'work' socially or in a market. Closely paired with its positive mirror 吃得开 ('be popular / get along well').

verb
to be unpopularto not work (of ideas, methods, behaviors)

Examples

  • 吃不开。
    Zhè zhǒng lǎo bàn fǎ xiàn zài chī bu kāi le.
    This old method is no longer popular now.
  • 吃不开。
    Tā de tài dù zài tóng shì zhōng chī bu kāi.
    His attitude is unpopular among colleagues.
  • 吃不开。
    Nà zhǒng fēng gé zài shì chǎng shàng wán quán chī bu kāi.
    That style is completely unpopular in the market.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

吃chīeat
不开
不bùnot开kāiopen
偏正Modifier + head

吃 and 不开 together suggest not fitting in, hence unpopular or not working.

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
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
乞
乞qǐ吃chī
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

吃 combines 口 (mouth) with 乞, which gives the sound; it originally wrote a word meaning to stutter.

Open 吃 →

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 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 開; 开 is its simplified writing.

  • 門門méndoor
  • 一一yīlatch and/or wooden pole that shuts a door
  • 廾廾gǒnga pair of hands

The traditional form 開 shows 廾, a pair of hands, and 一, a latch or pole, inside 門, a door: hands opening a latched door. The simplified 开 is a shorthand form, so its parts are not the original pieces.

Open 开 →

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