Chinese words starting with “bu”
111 words in our HSK vocabulary start with the syllable bu. They are sorted by how common they are, so the ones you are most likely to meet come first. The 34 most useful of them have their own page — they are listed first below.
Initial b · final u · hear the four tones and see example characters →
- 3rd tone 13
- 4th tone 98
Word counts by tone are counted on the first syllable of each word.
Common words with this syllable
- 不过bù guòHSK 2
only; merely; no more than; but; however; anyway (to get back to a previous topic); cannot be more (after adjectival)
- 不要bù yàoHSK 2
don't!; must not
- 不错bù cuòHSK 2
correct; right; not bad; pretty good
- 不同bù tóngHSK 2
different; distinct; not the same; not alike
- 部分bù fenHSK 2
part; share; section; piece
- 不管bù guǎnHSK 4
not to be concerned; regardless of; no matter
- 不再bù zàiHSK 6
no more; no longer
- 部门bù ménHSK 3
department; branch; section; division
- 不用bù yòngHSK 1
need not
- 不少bù shǎoHSK 2
many; a lot; not few
- 不断bù duànHSK 3
unceasing; uninterrupted; continuous; constant
- 不够bù gòuHSK 2
not enough; insufficient; inadequate
- 不行bù xíngHSK 2
won't do; be out of the question; be no good; not work; not be capable
- 不仅bù jǐnHSK 3
not just; not limited to; (as a correlative conjunction) not only (..., but also ...)
- 不知bù zhīHSK 7
not to know; unaware; unknowingly; fig. not to admit (defeat, hardships, tiredness etc)
- 不得不bù dé bùHSK 3
have no choice or option but to; cannot but; have to; can't help it; can't avoid
- 部队bù duìHSK 6
army; armed forces; troops; force; unit
- 不必bù bìHSK 3
need not; does not have to; not necessarily
- 不对bù duìHSK 1
incorrect; wrong; amiss; abnormal; queer
- 不如bù rúHSK 2
not equal to; not as good as; inferior to; it would be better to
- 不久bù jiǔHSK 2
not long (after); before too long; soon; soon after
- 不好意思bù hǎo yì siHSK 2
to feel embarrassed; to find it embarrassing; to be sorry (for inconveniencing sb)
- 不论bù lùnHSK 3
whatever; no matter what (who, how etc); regardless of; not to discuss
- 部长bù zhǎngHSK 3
head of a (government etc) department; section chief; section head; secretary; minister
All 111 words
| # | Word | Pinyin | POS | Meaning | Study list |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 51 | 不宜 | bù yí | v | not suitable; inadvisable; inappropriate | |
| 52 | 不肯 | bù kěn | v | Refuse | |
| 53 | 不同寻常 | bù tóng xún cháng | v | out of the ordinary; unusual | |
| 54 | 布局 | bù jú | n,v | arrangement; composition; layout; opening (chess jargon) | |
| 55 | 不理 | bù lǐ | v | to refuse to acknowledge; to pay no attention to; to take no notice of; to ignore | |
| 56 | 补助 | bǔ zhù | n,vn,v | to subsidize; subsidy; allowance | |
| 57 | 不知不觉 | bù zhī bù jué | l | unconsciously; unwittingly | |
| 58 | 不如说 | bùrú shuō | c | rather say | |
| 59 | 不愧 | bù kuì | d | to be worthy of; to deserve to be called; to prove oneself to be | |
| 60 | 不算 | bù suàn | v | to not calculate; to not count; to not be considered (as); to have no weight | |
| 61 | 不为人知 | bù wéi rén zhī | v | not known to anyone; secret; unknown | |
| 62 | 不经意 | bù jīng yì | a,ad | not paying attention; carelessly; by accident | |
| 63 | 补给 | bǔ jǐ | vn | supply; replenishment; to replenish | |
| 64 | 布满 | bù mǎn | v | to be covered with; to be filled with | |
| 65 | 不予 | bùyǔ | v | to withhold, to refuse | |
| 66 | 不屑 | bù xiè | v | to disdain to do sth; to think sth not worth doing; to feel it beneath one's dignity | |
| 67 | 不得已 | bù dé yǐ | a,v | to act against one's will; to have no alternative but to; to have to; to have no choice; must | |
| 68 | 不耐烦 | bù nài fán | a | impatient; to lose patience | |
| 69 | 补救 | bǔ jiù | v,vn | to remedy | |
| 70 | 不由自主 | bù yóu zì zhǔ | l | can't help; involuntarily (idiom) | |
| 71 | 不起眼 | bù qǐ yǎn | a | unremarkable; nothing out of the ordinary | |
| 72 | 不正之风 | bù zhèng zhī fēng | unhealthy tendency | ||
| 73 | 不择手段 | bù zé shǒu duàn | l | by fair means or foul; by hook or by crook; unscrupulously | |
| 74 | 不景气 | bù jǐng qì | a | slack; in a slump | |
| 75 | 不值 | bù zhí | not worth | ||
| 76 | 不定 | bù dìng | d | indefinite; indeterminate; (botany) adventitious | |
| 77 | 不见得 | bù jiàn de | d | not necessarily; not likely | |
| 78 | 不解 | bù jiě | v | to not understand; to be puzzled by; indissoluble | |
| 79 | 不易 | bù yì | a,ad | not easy to do sth; difficult; unchanging | |
| 80 | 不懈 | bù xiè | z | untiring; unremitting; indefatigable | |
| 81 | 不慎 | bù shèn | d | incautious; inattentive | |
| 82 | 不得而知 | bù dé ér zhī | v | unknown; unable to find out | |
| 83 | 不言而喻 | bù yán ér yù | v | it goes without saying; it is self-evident | |
| 84 | 不由得 | bù yóu de | d | can't help; cannot but | |
| 85 | 补习 | bǔ xí | v,vn | to take extra lessons in a cram school or with a private tutor | |
| 86 | 补课 | bǔ kè | v,vn | to make up missed lesson; to reschedule a class | |
| 87 | 不平 | bù píng | a,an | uneven; injustice; unfairness; wrong; grievance; indignant; dissatisfied | |
| 88 | 不怎么样 | bù zěn me yàng | not up to much; very indifferent; nothing great about it; nothing good to be said about it | ||
| 89 | 不难 | bù nán | d | Not difficult | |
| 90 | 不以为然 | bù yǐ wéi rán | v | not to accept as correct (idiom); to object; to disapprove; to take exception to | |
| 91 | 不屑一顾 | bù xiè yī gù | v | to disdain as beneath contempt (idiom) | |
| 92 | 不了了之 | bù liǎo liǎo zhī | v | to settle a matter by leaving it unsettled; to end up with nothing definite | |
| 93 | 不免 | bù miǎn | d | inevitably | |
| 94 | 哺乳 | bǔ rǔ | v | breastfeeding; to suckle; to nurse | |
| 95 | 不相上下 | bù xiāng shàng xià | v | equally matched; about the same | |
| 96 | 不像话 | bù xiàng huà | a | unreasonable; shocking; outrageous | |
| 97 | 不料 | bù liào | d | unexpectedly; to one's surprise | |
| 98 | 不翼而飞 | bù yì ér fēi | v | to disappear without trace; to vanish all of a sudden; to spread fast; to spread like wildfire | |
| 99 | 不亦乐乎 | bù yì lè hū | v | lit. isn't that a joy? (quote from Confucius); fig. (jocular) extremely; awfully | |
| 100 | 补考 | bǔ kǎo | v,vn | to sit for a makeup exam; to resit an exam; makeup exam; resit |
Page 2 of 3 · 50 words per page
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