未必 meaning in English

wèibì

not necessarily; maybe not

HSK 4adverb10 strokes

Meaning of 未必

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

wèibì

not necessarily
maybe not

How to use 未必

未必 goes before a verb or adjective to soften a statement and suggest that something may not be true. It is common in both speech and writing, often to push back politely on an assumption. Example: 贵的东西未必好。(Guì de dōngxi wèibì hǎo.) Expensive things are not necessarily good.

未 (wèi) means "not yet" and 必 (bì) means "certainly," so 未必 is "not certainly," which is just "not necessarily." You can link it to 未来 (wèilái), the future, which is never certain.

Common mistake: Learners often mix up 未必 (not necessarily) with 不必 (bùbì, no need to). 你未必去 suggests you might not go, while 你不必去 means you don't have to go.

未必 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

外wài表biǎo未wèi必bì可kě信xìn。

Appearances are deceiving.

这zhè项xiàng工gōng作zuò未wèi必bì容róng易yì。

This work is not necessarily easy.

发fā光guāng的de未wèi必bì都dōu是shì金jīn子zi。

All that glitters is not gold.

这zhè些xiē资zī料liào未wèi必bì可kě靠kào。

It is questionable whether this data can be relied on.

虽suī说shuō是shì高gāo学xué历lì，也yě未wèi必bì就jiù有yǒu教jiào养yǎng。

A good education doesn't imply a good upbringing.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

未 wèi · not yet · 5 strokes

必 bì · certainly · 5 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 未必.

必须	bìxū	must; to have to
必要	bìyào	necessary; essential
不必	bùbì	need not; does not have to
必然	bìrán	inevitable; certain
未来	wèilái	future; tomorrow
必需	bìxū	to need; to require
必将	bìjiāng	inevitably
必修	bìxiū	(of an academic course) required; compulsory
从未	cóngwèi	never
何必	hébì	there is no need; why should
尚未	shàngwèi	not yet; still not
必定	bìdìng	to be bound to; to be sure to

Questions about 未必

What does 未必 mean?

未必 (wèibì) means "not necessarily; maybe not" and is used as a adverb.

How do you write 未必?

未必 is made of 2 characters: 未 (5 strokes), 必 (5 strokes). That is 10 strokes in total.

Is 未必 an HSK word?

Yes. 未必 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

What is the difference between 未必 and 不一定?

Both mean "not necessarily" and are often interchangeable. 不一定 (bù yídìng) is more casual and very common in speech, while 未必 sounds a little more formal or literary. 不一定 can also stand alone as a reply, but 未必 is less natural that way.

Is 未必 the opposite of 必然?

Roughly, yes. 必然 (bìrán) says something is inevitable or bound to happen, while 未必 says it is not certain. For example, 努力未必成功 means hard work does not necessarily lead to success.