Meaning of 不怎么
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- not very
- not particularly
How to use 不怎么
不怎么 goes before a verb or adjective to soften a negative, making it milder than plain 不. It often describes habits or quality in casual speech. Example: 我不怎么喝咖啡。(Wǒ bù zěnme hē kāfēi.) I don't really drink coffee.
不 (bù) means not, and 怎么 (zěnme) means how. Put together, 不怎么 is like saying "not how much," which becomes "not very" or "not really."
Common mistake: Learners sometimes read 不怎么 as a question because 怎么 usually asks "how." In 不怎么, there is no question at all, so don't add 吗 or a rising tone. Also note that 不 stays fourth tone (bù) here because 怎 (zěn) is third tone, not fourth.
不怎么 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
怎 zěn · what? why? how? · 9 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
么 me · interrogative particle · 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
Related words
Words that share a character with 不怎么.
| 什么 | shénme | what?; something; anything |
| 怎么 | zěnme | how?; what? |
| 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 |
| 干什么 | gàn shénme | what are you doing?; what's he up to? |
| 没什么 | méi shénme | it doesn't matter; it's nothing; never mind; think nothing of it; it's my pleasure; you're |
| 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 |
| 为什么 | wèi shénme | why?; for what reason? |
| 不要 | bùyào | don't!; must not |
Questions about 不怎么
What does 不怎么 mean?
不怎么 (bùzěnme) means "not very; not particularly" and is used as a adverb.
How do you write 不怎么?
不怎么 is made of 3 characters: 不 (4 strokes), 怎 (9 strokes), 么 (3 strokes). That is 16 strokes in total.
Is 不怎么 an HSK word?
Yes. 不怎么 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 不怎么 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 不怎么 is written 不怎麼.
What is the difference between 不怎么 and 不太?
Both mean "not very" and are often interchangeable before adjectives, as in 不太好 and 不怎么好. 不怎么 is more common before verbs to describe how often or how much you do something, like 不怎么看电视 (don't watch TV much).
What does 不怎么样 mean?
不怎么样 (bù zěnmeyàng) is a fixed phrase meaning "not that great" or "so-so." It is used on its own as a comment, for example 这家饭馆不怎么样。(This restaurant isn't that great.)