Meaning of 不利
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- unfavorable
- disadvantageous
- harmful
- detrimental
How to use 不利
不利 often appears in the pattern 对……不利 (duì... bùlì), meaning bad for someone or something. It can also come before a noun, as in 不利条件 (bùlì tiáojiàn, unfavorable conditions). Example: 熬夜对身体不利。(Áoyè duì shēntǐ bùlì.) Staying up late is bad for your health.
不 (bù) means not, and 利 (lì) means benefit or advantage, so 不利 is simply not to your advantage. Picture 利 with its knife radical 刂 on the right: a knife that cuts in your favor, and 不 takes that edge away.
Common mistake: Learners often say 不利于 and 对……不利 interchangeably but mix up the word order. Say 对健康不利 or 不利于健康, not 不利对健康. Also keep the fourth tone on 利 (lì), and do not confuse it with 力 (lì, strength).
不利 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
不 bù · no · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
利 lì · sharp · 7 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
Related words
Words that share a character with 不利.
| 对不起 | duìbuqǐ | I'm sorry; excuse me; I beg your pardon; to let (sb) down; to disappoint |
| 是不是 | shì bu shì | is or is not (used to form yes-no questions) |
| 不用 | bùyòng | need not |
| 不大 | bù dà | not very (clear, far away etc); not too; not often; infrequently |
| 不对 | bùduì | incorrect; wrong |
| 不客气 | bù kèqì | you're welcome; don't mention it |
| 不要 | bùyào | don't!; must not |
| 不过 | bùguò | only; merely |
| 不错 | bùcuò | correct; right |
| 不行 | bùxíng | won't do; be out of the question |
| 不同 | bù tóng | different; distinct |
| 不好意思 | bù hǎoyìsi | to feel embarrassed; to find it embarrassing |
Questions about 不利
What does 不利 mean?
不利 (bùlì) means "unfavorable; disadvantageous" and is used as a adjective.
How do you write 不利?
不利 is made of 2 characters: 不 (4 strokes), 利 (7 strokes). That is 11 strokes in total.
Is 不利 an HSK word?
Yes. 不利 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the opposite of 不利?
The usual opposite is 有利 (yǒulì), meaning favorable or advantageous. For example, 有利条件 means favorable conditions and 不利条件 means unfavorable ones.
Is 不利 formal or casual?
It is fairly neutral to formal and is common in news, reports and written Chinese. In casual speech people often say 对身体不好 (duì shēntǐ bù hǎo) instead of 对身体不利.