Grammar-wiki-B1-1028.xhtml 5.3 KB

123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657585960616263646566676869707172737475767778798081828384858687888990
  1. <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
  2. <!DOCTYPE html>
  3. <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
  4. <head>
  5. <meta name="generator" content="HTML Tidy for HTML5 for Linux version 5.2.0"/>
  6. <title>Adjectives: 不怎么 (bù zěnme)</title>
  7. <link href="../Styles/main.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"/>
  8. </head>
  9. <body>
  10. <h1>Expressing "not very" with <span class="hanzist">不怎么</span> (<span class="pinyinst">bù zěnme</span>)</h1>
  11. <p>When you use <span class="hanzi">不怎么</span> (<span class="pinyin">bù zěnme</span>) before an adjective, it means "not very." This structure is similar to how English speakers may say something is "not very good."</p>
  12. <p><br/></p>
  13. <h2>Contents</h2>
  14. <ol>
  15. <li>Structure<br/></li>
  16. <li>Examples<br/></li>
  17. <li>See also<br/></li>
  18. <li>Sources and further reading<br/></li>
  19. <ol>
  20. <li>Books<br/></li>
  21. </ol>
  22. </ol>
  23. <div>
  24. <h2 id="structure">Structure</h2>
  25. <p>When used together with an adjective, <span class="hanzi">不怎么</span> becomes similar to <a href="&quot;Not_very&quot;_with_&quot;bu_tai&quot;" title="wikilink">不太</a>, which means that the degree of the adjective is not very high.</p>
  26. <div>
  27. <div class="deux">
  28. Subj. + <span class="hanzist">不怎么</span> + Adj. / Psychological Verb
  29. </div>
  30. </div>
  31. <p>Using this grammar structure is a way to indirectly or mildly state something. Instead of saying "<span class="hanzi">他不聪明</span>" (<span class="pinyin">tā bù cōngming</span>) you can say "<span class="hanzi">他不怎么聪明</span>" (<span class="pinyin">tā bù zěnme cōngming</span>), turning a very direct statement to a milder, more wayward statement.</p>
  32. <h2 id="examples">Examples</h2>
  33. <div class="exemple">
  34. <ul>
  35. <li><span class="hanzi">最近&#160;<span class="orange">不 怎么</span>&#160;忙 。</span><br/> <span class="pinyin">Zuìjìn&#160;<span class="orange">bù zěnme</span>&#160;máng.</span><br/><span> It hasn't been very busy lately.</span></li>
  36. <li><span class="hanzi">这里 的 冬天&#160;<span class="orange">不 怎么</span>&#160;冷 。</span> <br/><span class="pinyin">Zhèlǐ de dōngtiān&#160;<span class="orange">bù zěnme</span>&#160;lěng.</span><br/><span> It's not very cold here in winter.</span></li>
  37. <li><span class="hanzi">他们 好像&#160;<span class="orange">不 怎么</span>&#160;高兴 。</span> <br/><span class="pinyin">Tāmen hǎoxiàng&#160;<span class="orange">bù zěnme</span>&#160;gāoxìng.</span><br/><span> They seem not very happy.</span></li>
  38. <li><span class="hanzi">这 个 学生&#160;<span class="orange">不 怎么</span>&#160;努力 。</span> <br/><span class="pinyin">Zhège xuéshēng&#160;<span class="orange">bù zěnme</span>&#160;nǔlì.</span><br/><span> This student isn't very hard-working.</span></li>
  39. <li><span class="hanzi">那 家 餐厅&#160;<span class="orange">不 怎么</span>&#160;干净 。</span> <br/><span class="pinyin">Nà jiā cāntīng&#160;<span class="orange">bù zěnme</span>&#160;gānjìng.</span><br/><span> That restaurant isn't very clean.</span></li>
  40. <li><span class="hanzi">这个 老师&#160;<span class="orange">不 怎么</span>&#160;专业 。</span> <br/><span class="pinyin">Zhège lǎoshī&#160;<span class="orange">bù zěnme</span>&#160;zhuānyè.</span><br/><span> This teacher isn't very professional.</span></li>
  41. <li><span class="hanzi">你 是 不 是 昨天 睡 得&#160;<span class="orange">不 怎么</span>&#160;好 ?</span> <br/><span class="pinyin">Nǐ shì bu shì zuótiān shuì de&#160;<span class="orange">bù zěnme</span>&#160;hǎo?</span><br/><span> Did you not sleep very well last night?</span></li>
  42. <li><span class="hanzi">我&#160;<span class="orange">不 怎么</span>&#160;喜欢 咖啡 。</span> <br/><span class="pinyin">Wǒ&#160;<span class="orange">bù zěnme</span>&#160;xǐhuan kāfēi.</span><br/><span> I'm not very into coffee.</span></li>
  43. <li><span class="hanzi">他 跟 他 父母 长 得&#160;<span class="orange">不 怎么</span>&#160;像 。</span> <br/><span class="pinyin">Tā gēn tā fùmǔ zhǎng de&#160;<span class="orange">bù zěnme</span>&#160;xiàng.</span><br/><span> He and his parents don't look very much alike.</span></li>
  44. <li><span class="hanzi">他 去 美国 一 年 多 了 ,不过&#160;<span class="orange">不 怎么</span>&#160;想家 。</span><br/><span class="pinyin"> Tā qù Měiguó yī nián duō le, bùguò&#160;<span class="orange">bù zěnme</span>&#160;xiǎngjiā.</span><br/><span> He's been in America for more than one year, but he's not very homesick.</span></li>
  45. </ul>
  46. </div>
  47. <p>Remember that to make <span class="hanzi">不怎么</span> mean "<b>not very</b>" use it with an adjective. Using it with a verb will give it <a href="&quot;Not_often&quot;_with_&quot;bu_zenme&quot;" title="wikilink">the meaning of "not often."</a></p>
  48. <h2 id="see-also">See Also</h2>
  49. <ul>
  50. <li><a href="&quot;Not_often&quot;_with_&quot;bu_zenme&quot;" title="wikilink">"Not often" with "bu zenme"</a></li>
  51. </ul>
  52. <h2 id="sources-and-further-reading">Sources and further reading</h2>
  53. <h3 id="books">Books</h3>
  54. <ul>
  55. <li>Short-term Spoken Chinese: Elementary (<span class="hanzi">汉语口语速成基础篇</span>) (pp. 139)</li>
  56. </ul>
  57. </div>
  58. </body>
  59. </html>