Meaning of 不耐烦
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- impatient
- to lose patience
How to use 不耐烦
不耐烦 describes someone who has run out of patience, and it often follows 很 or appears with 得 or 了. It also pairs with 等得 to show impatience from waiting. Example: 他等得有点不耐烦了。(Tā děng de yǒudiǎn bù nàifán le.) He was getting a bit impatient from waiting.
Break it into 不 (bù, not) + 耐 (nài, to endure) + 烦 (fán, annoyance). If you can not endure the annoyance any longer, you are impatient.
Common mistake: Learners often read 不 here as bú because they think of the tone change, but 耐 is fourth tone, so it does become bú: bú nàifán in speech. Another trap is dropping 不 and saying 耐烦 to mean impatient, when 耐烦 alone means patient and is rarely used without 不.
不耐烦 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
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耐 nài · to bear · 9 strokes
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烦 fán · to feel vexed · 10 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 不耐烦.
| 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 不耐烦
What does 不耐烦 mean?
不耐烦 (bù nàifán) means "impatient; to lose patience".
How do you write 不耐烦?
不耐烦 is made of 3 characters: 不 (4 strokes), 耐 (9 strokes), 烦 (10 strokes). That is 23 strokes in total.
Is 不耐烦 an HSK word?
Yes. 不耐烦 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 不耐烦 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 不耐烦 is written 不耐煩.
How do I tell someone not to be impatient in Chinese?
You can say 别不耐烦 (bié bù nàifán) or more gently 耐心一点 (nàixīn yìdiǎn), be a little more patient. The second sounds softer and more natural in most situations.
What is the difference between 不耐烦 and 着急?
着急 (zháojí) means anxious or in a hurry, often from worry. 不耐烦 means annoyed because your patience is used up, so it carries irritation rather than worry.