búyào 不要 ADV (used in an imperative sentence or as advice) do not ■ 你们不要说话了, 电影开始
了。Nǐmen búyào shuōhuà le, diànyǐng kāishǐ le. Please don’t talk any more. The movie has
started. ■ 你不要着急, 你孩子的病很快会好的。Nǐ búyào zháojí, nǐ háizi de bìng hěnkuài huì
hǎo de. Don’t you be worried；your child will recover soon.
Note: See note on 别 bié.bù’ān 不安 [modif: 不 not + 安 peace, peaceful] ADJ upset, disturbed
búbì 不必 [modif: 不 not + 必 necessary] ADV need not, not have to, unnecessarily ■ 你不必送这么贵 重
的礼物。Nǐ búbì sòng zhème guìzhòng de lǐwù. You don’t have to give such an expensive gift. ■ 孩
子会很快恢复健康的，你完全不必担心。Háizi huì hěn kuài huīfù jiànkāng de, nǐ wánquán búbì
dānxīn. The child will recover very soon. You really don’t have to worry.
búcuò 不错 [modif: 不 not + 错 wrong] ADJ 1 not wrong; quite right ■ 你那样考虑一点不错。 Nǐ
nàyàng kǎolǜ yìdǐan bú cuò. It was quite right of you to think that way. 2 not bad, quite good ■ 这个
电影不错。Zhè ge diànyǐng búcuò. This movie is rather good. ■ 这孩子画得真不错。Zhè háizi
huà de zhēn búcuò. This child really doesn’t draw badly. (→ This child draws quite well.)
NOTE: ...得不错 ...de búcuò is ambiguous. It may mean either ... correctly or ... rather well. For example,
the sentence 你说得不错。Nǐ shuō de búcuò. may mean either You spoke correctly. (→ You’re right.) or You
spoke quite well. (→ Well said.)búdà 不大 ADV not very, not much ■ 今天不大 热。 Jīntiān búdà rè. Today is not very hot. ■ 我 不大喜
欢吃日本菜。 Wǒ búdà xǐhuan chī Rìběn cài. I’m not very fond of Japanese food.
búdàn ...
érqiě 不但 ... 而且 CONJ not only ... but also ... ■ 这家饭店的菜不但好吃, 而且好看。 Zhè jiā
fàndiàn de cài búdàn hǎochī, érqiě hǎokàn. The dishes in this restaurant are not only delicious but
also beautiful. ■ 她不但唱歌唱得好听, 而且跳舞跳得好看。Tā búdàn chànggē chàng de
hǎotīng, érqiě tiàowǔ tiào de hǎokàn. She not only sings beautifully, but also dances gracefully.
bùdébù 不得不 ADV have to, have no choice but ■ 我做错了题目，不得不重做。Wǒ zuòcuòle tímù,
bùdebù chóng zuò. I did the wrong question [for a school assignment] and had to do it all over
agian. ■ 这个星期去上海的飞机票全部卖 完了，我们不得不改到下星期去。Zhège xīngqī qù
Shànghǎi de fēijī piào quánbù màiwán le, wǒmen bùdébù gǎi dào xià xīngqī qù. This week’s air
tickets to Shanghai are sold out, so we have no choice but change our departure date to next week.
bùdéliǎo 不得了 ADJ 1 horrible, extremely serious ■ 不得了了，对面房子着火了！Bùdéliǎo le,
duìmiàn fángzi zháohuǒ le! How terrible, the house opposite is on fire! ■ 你没有什么不得了的
事，就别麻烦朋友了。Nǐ méiyǒu shénme bùdéliǎo de shì, jiù bié máfan péngyou le. If it isn’t
anything really serious, don’t bother your friends. 2 extremely (used after an adjective and
introduced by 得 de) ■ 昨天热得不得了。Zuótiān rè de bùdéliǎo. It was extremely hot yesterday.
■ 爬那 座雪山危险得不得了，你们非充分准备不可。Pá nà zuò xuěshān wēixiǎn de bùdéliǎo,
nǐmen fēi chōngfèn zhǔnbèi bùkě. It is extremely dangerous to climb that snowy mountain. You
must be well prepared.
bùdeyǐ 不得已 ADJ having no alternative but to, acting against one’s will ■ 非到不得已的时候， 不能
用这笔钱。Fēidào bùdéyǐ de shíhou, bú néng yòng zhè bǐ qián. You’re not allowed to use this
money, unless you really have to.
búduàn 不断 [modif: 不 not + 断 interrupt] ADV without interruption, continuously, incessantly ■ 只有不
断努力，才能永远进步。Zhǐyǒu búduàn nǔlì, cái néng yǒngyuǎn jìnbù. Only by continuous
efforts can one make progress forever.
bùfǎng 不妨 ADV might as well ■ 你不妨试试针 灸，看看有没有效果。Nǐ bùfǎng shìshi zhēnjiǔ,
kànkan yóuméiyǒu xiàoguǒ. You might as well try acupuncture to see if it is efficacious.
bùgǎndāng 不敢当 IDIOM Thank you, I don’t dare to accept (a polite/modest reply to a compliment) ■