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说不上 (shuō bu shàng) — can't say / can't put into words; can't really be considered / it's not really (that…)

Definition

说不上 (shuō bu shàng) softens a judgment — 'can't really say it's X' or 'not really worth calling X' — used to downplay or hedge rather than deny outright.

verb
can't say / can't put into wordscan't really be considered / it's not really (that…)

Examples

  • 说不上。
    Wǒ shuō bu shàng zhè liǎng jiàn yī fu yǒu shén me bù yí yàng.
    I can't really say what's different about these two pieces of clothing.
  • 说不上，。
    Tā de chéng jì shuō bu shàng hěn hǎo, dàn yě bú chà.
    His grades can't really be called great, but they're not bad either.
  • 说不上，。
    Zhè bù diàn yǐng shuō bu shàng tè bié jīng cǎi, bú guò kě yǐ kàn kàn.
    This movie isn't really that exciting, but it's worth watching.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

说shuōspeak
不上not up
不bùnot上shàngup
偏正Modifier + head

说 speak and 上 up with 不 not express inability to put something into words.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 說; 说 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yán
Sound part声符shēngfú
兌
兌duì說shuō
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 說 pairs 言 (meaning) with 兌 (sound); the simplified 说 is not the form described here.

Open 说 →

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 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

上 is drawn as a short horizontal line placed above a longer arc, marking a position above that arc.

Open 上 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.