dà, qíshí shénme dōu zuò bu hǎo. He thinks himself very capable; actually he can’t get anything
done properly.
NOTE: 本领 běnlǐng and 本事 běnshì are synonyms, but 本领 běnlǐng emphasizes skills while 本事 běnshì has a
more general sense of “the ability to get things done” and may be used with negative connotations.běnzhe 本着 PREP in accordance with, based on
běnzhì 本质 [comp: 本 origin + 质 nature] N innate character, true nature ■ 研究问题我们要透 过表面
现象看到本质。Yánjiū wèntí, wǒmen yào tòuguo biǎomiàn xiànxiàng kàndào běnzhì. When
studying a problem we should see beyond appearances and get to its essence.
běnzi 本子 [suffix: 本 a book + 子 nominal suffix] N notebook (本 běn)
bèn 笨 ADJ dumb, stupid ■ 他不善于言词，其实一 点都不笨。Tā bú shànyú yáncí, qíshí yìdiǎn dōu
bú bèn. He is not good at expressing himself, but he is by no means stupid. ■ 千万不能对孩子说
“你真笨！”这样的话。Qiānwàn bù néng duì háizi shuō “Nǐ zhēn bèn!” zhèyàng de huà.
Never, ever say to a child such things as “How stupid you are!”
bènzhuō 笨拙 [comp: 笨 dumb + 拙 clumsy] ADJ clumsy
bēng 崩 V collapse
bēngkuì 崩溃 [comp: 崩 collapse + 溃 decay] V collapse, crumble
béng 甭 ADV (contraction of 不用) don’t ■ 甭客气! Béng kèqi! Don’t stand on ceremony! It’s OK.
bèngfā 迸发 V burst out, burst forth
bèng 蹦 V jump 蹦床 bèngchuáng trampoline / 蹦极跳 bèngjí tiào bungee jump
bī 逼 V 1 force, compel 2 get close to, press on towards
bīpò 逼迫 [comp: 逼 force + 迫 force] V force, coerce
bí 鼻 N same as 鼻子 bízi
bítì 鼻涕 N nasal mucus
bízi 鼻子 N the nose
bǐ 比 I PREP (introducing the object that is compared with the subject of a sentence), than ■ 今天比昨天冷
得多。Jīntiān bǐ zuótiān lěng de duō. Today is much colder than yesterday. ■ 我跑 得比你快。
Wǒ pǎo de bǐ nǐ kuài. I run faster than you. II V compete, compare, contrast ■ 你们俩谁 跑得快?
比一比! Nǐmen liǎ shuí pǎo de kuài? Bǐ yì bǐ! Of you two, who runs faster? Let’s see!
bǐfang 比方 N example, analogy 打比方 dǎ bǐfang make an analogy, draw an analogy
bǐjiào 比较 V & ADV compare; comparatively, relatively, to some degree ■ 这两种方法哪个好， 我们要
比较一下。Zhè liǎng zhǒng fāngfǎ nǎge hǎo, wǒmen yào bǐjiào yíxià. Which of the two
approaches is the better one? We need to compare them. ■ 这两天天气比较好。Zhè liǎng tiān
tiānqì bǐjiào hǎo. The weather these days is not bad. 和... 比较 hé... bǐjiào compare... with ■ 和农村
比较，城市的生活方便得多。Hé nóngcūn bǐjiào, chéngshì de shēnghuó fāngbiàn de duō.
Compared to living in the countryside, city life is much more convenient.
bǐlì 比例 N percentage ■ 这个学校海外留学生在 学生人数中占多少比例？Zhège xuéxiào hǎiwài
liúxuéshēng zài xuésheng rénshù zhōng zhàn duōshǎo bǐlì? What percentage of this school’s
enrolment are overseas students?
bǐrú 比如 CONJ for example ■ 今年我们都取得了 很大进步，比如约翰，现在已经会用中文写电子
邮件了。Jīnnián wǒmen dōu qǔdéle hěn dà jìnbù, bǐrú Yuēhàn, xiànzài yǐjīng huì yòng Zhōngwén
xiě diànzǐ yóujiàn le. We have all made good progress this year. Take John for example, now he can
write e-mails in Chinese.
NOTE: In spoken Chinese you can also use 比如说 bǐrúshuō.
bǐsài 比赛 [comp: 比 compare + 赛 compete] V & N compete, have a match; match, game, competition ■ 今
天晚上我们和他们比赛篮球。 Jīntiān wǎnshang wǒmen hé tāmen bǐsài lánqiú. This evening
we’ll have a basketball match with them. ■ 下个月北京举行中国武术比赛。Xià ge yuè Běijīng
jǔxíng Zhōngguó wǔshù bǐsài. There will be a Chinese martial arts contest in Beijing next month.