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说不定 (shuō bu dìng) — (verb) can't say for sure; hard to tell; (adverb) maybe; perhaps

Definition

A two-verb phrase meaning 'can't say for sure' or, as an adverb, 'maybe, perhaps' — stronger hedging than 也许, closer to a guess than a real possibility like 可能.

verb
can't say for surehard to tell
adverb
maybeperhaps

Examples

  • 说不定。
    shuō bu dìng Jīn tiān huì xià yǔ.
    Maybe it will rain today.
  • ？说不定。
    Tā shén me shí hou huí lái? zhè kě shuō bu dìng.
    When will he come back? That I can't say for sure.
  • ，说不定。
    Rú guǒ nǔ lì, shuō bu dìng néng chéng gōng.
    If you work hard, maybe you can succeed.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

说shuōsay
不定not fixed
不bùnot定dìngfixed
偏正Modifier + head

“说 (“say”) with “不定 (“not fixed”) gives “can’t say for sure”.

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 →

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
宀宀mián
Sound part声符shēngfú
正
正zhèng定dìng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

定 is built from 宀 and 正, with 正 supplying the sound.

Open 定 →
Appears in
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