不成 (bù chéng) — (adjective/verb) won't do; not acceptable; not allowed; (verb) used in the structure 非...不成 to express necessity (must); (particle) used at the end of a rhetorical question, often with 难道, to add emphasis
Definition
不成 is a set-phrase word (not freely used alone in the sense 'won't do') and also a sentence-final particle in rhetorical questions with 难道. It sounds stiffer and more literary than 不行; 不准 specifically means 'forbidden' and doesn't substitute here.
verb
(adjective/verb) won't donot acceptablenot allowedused in the structure 非...不成 to express necessity (must)
particle
used at the end of a rhetorical questionoften with 难道to add emphasis
Examples
- 不成，。Zhè yàng zuò bù chéng, huì yǒu má fan.It won't do to do it this way — there will be trouble.
- 不成。Zhè jiàn shì fēi tā qù bù chéng.He must go for this matter; nothing less will do.
- 不成？Nán dào nǐ zhēn de bú qù bù chéng?Could it be that you really aren't going?
Grammar
Appears in
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