Chinese word

不久

Pronunciation

Pinyinbù jiǔ

Meaning

  • adverbsoon

Example

他不久就到了。tā bù jiǔ jiù dào le

He arrived soon.

Illustration for 不久 (soon)

More examples

他们不久就成为朋友了。tā men bù jiǔ jiù chéng wéi péng yǒu le

They became friends before long.

Core concept

A small stretch of time separates the present moment from an event.

Common phrases

  • 不久就bù jiǔ jiù

    before long

  • 不久之后bù jiǔ zhī hòu

    shortly afterward

Similar words

马上mǎ shàng: Very soon, often signaling that an expected action is about to happen.
很快hěn kuài: Quickly, with an event starting or ending after only a short time.
立刻lì kè: Immediately, with no delay when an action begins.

Definition in Chinese

表示某事在短时间内发生或即将发生，相当于“很快”或“过不了多久”。biǎo shì mǒu shì zài duǎn shí jiān nèi fā shēng huò jí jiāng fā shēng xiāng dāng yú hěn kuài huò guò bù liǎo duō jiǔ

Word origin

不久 (bùjiǔ, "not long") is formed from 不 (bù, "not") + 久 (jiǔ, "a long time"), turning the idea of long duration into a short wait.

Usage tips

  • The time reference comes from the sentence, so this adverb can describe a short interval after a past event or before a future one.

Opposites

  • 很久hěn jiǔfor a long timeadverb

Word lists with this word