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Traditional (switch to Simplified)

不成

bù chéng

Definition

won't do
unable to
(at the end of a rhetorical question) can that be?

Character Decomposition

Related words (9)

bù chéng wén

unwritten (rule)

bù chéng cái

worthless; good-for-nothing

bù chéng shú

unripe; immature

bù chéng huà

bù chéng wén fǎ

unwritten law

bù chéng yàng zi

shapeless; deformed; ruined; beyond recognition; (of a person) reduced to a shadow

yè bù chéng mián

to be unable to sleep at night

kuì bù chéng jūn

utterly defeated

無巧不成書

wú qiǎo bù chéng shū

curious coincidence

Proverbs (1)

一口吃不成胖子

yī kǒu chī bù chéng pàng zi

(lit.) you cannot get fat with only one mouthful (proverb); (fig.) learn to walk before you run

Idioms (9)

bù chéng tǐ tǒng

not according with decorum (idiom); scandalous; bad form; unacceptable behavior

不成功便成仁

bù chéng gōng biàn chéng rén

to succeed or die trying (idiom)

不打不成器

bù dǎ bù chéng qì

spare the rod and spoil the child (idiom)

不打不成才

bù dǎ bù chéng cái

spare the rod and spoil the child (idiom)

恨鐵不成鋼

hèn tiě bù chéng gāng

(lit.) to hate iron for not becoming steel; to feel resentful towards sb for failing to meet expectations and impatient to see improvement (idiom)

獨木不成林

dú mù bù chéng lín

a lone tree does not make a forest (idiom); one cannot accomplish much on one's own

不打不成相識

bù dǎ bù chéng xiāng shí

don't fight, won't make friends (idiom); an exchange of blows may lead to friendship

高不成低不就

gāo bù chéng dī bù jiù

can't reach the high or accept the low (idiom); not good enough for a high post, but too proud to take a low one

偷雞不成蝕把米

tōu jī bù chéng shí bǎ mǐ

(lit.) to try to steal a chicken only to end up losing the rice used to lure it (idiom); (fig.) to try to gain an advantage only to end up worse off; to go for wool and come back shorn

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