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随便 (suí biàn) — (adjective) casual, informal; not particular or fussy; (verb) to do as one pleases; to feel free to (in offers or permissions); (conjunction) no matter, regardless of (used with question words)

Definition

随便 covers three jobs: an adjective meaning 'casual, not fussy'; a verb in offers meaning 'feel free to'; and a conjunction meaning 'no matter (who/what/how)' — close to 不管 but less formal. Polite when accepting any choice.

adjective
casualinformalnot particular or fussy
verb
to do as one pleasesto feel free to (in offers or permissions)
conjunction
no matterregardless of (used with question words)

Examples

  • 随便，。
    Jīn tiān chuān dé hěn suí biàn, méi yǒu kè yì dǎ bàn.
    I dressed very casually today, not deliberately dressing up.
  • ？——随便，。
    Nǐ xiǎng chī zhōng cān hái shì xī cān? —— suí biàn, wǒ dōu kě yǐ.
    Do you want Chinese or Western food? — I don't care, either is fine.
  • 随便，。
    suí biàn Shuí lái, wǒ dōu huān yíng.
    No matter who comes, I welcome them.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

随suífollow
便biànconvenience

随 gives following or letting, and 便 gives convenience, so the whole means doing things as one pleases.

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 隨; 随 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辵辵chuòwalking
Sound part声符shēngfú
𡐦
𡐦𡐦隨suí
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 隨 pairs 辵 (walking) with 𡐦 (the sound part); the simplified 随 is a later shorthand.

Open 随 →

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

便 pairs 亻 (person) with 更 (to change), showing a person changing posture to become comfortable.

Open 便 →

Grammar

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 4HSK 2.0 Level 41000 Most Frequent Chinese WordsAttitudes & Opinions2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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