Chinese word

不妨

Pronunciation

Pinyinbù fáng

Meaning

  • adverbmay as well

Example

下次不妨早一点出发。xià cì bù fáng zǎo yì diǎn chū fā

Next time, you may as well leave a little earlier.

Illustration for 不妨 (may as well)

More examples

遇到问题时，不妨先冷静想一想再决定。yù dào wèn tí shí bù fáng xiān lěng jìng xiǎng yì xiǎng zài jué dìng

When you run into a problem, you may as well think it over calmly before deciding.

Core concept

A gentle opening for an action that seems easy and worthwhile to try without making it a duty.

Common phrases

  • 不妨考虑一下bù fáng kǎo lǜ yí xià

    may as well consider it

  • 不妨试试bù fáng shì shì

    may as well give it a try

Similar words

何不hé bù: Uses a question meaning why not to encourage someone to take action.
何妨hé fáng: Presents an action as acceptable because there is no reason not to do it, with a literary tone.
干脆gān cuì: Encourages someone to act decisively instead of hesitating.

Definition in Chinese

带有建议语气的副词，表示做某事无妨碍、值得一试，常用于给出轻微的建议或试探性的意见。dài yǒu jiàn yì yǔ qì de fù cí biǎo shì zuò mǒu shì wú fáng ài zhí de yí shì cháng yòng yú gěi chū qīng wēi de jiàn yì huò shì tàn xìng de yì jiàn

Word origin

不 (bù, "not") + 妨 (fáng, "hinder") literally means "not hinder," which extends to presenting an action as unobstructed and worth trying.

Usage tips

  • In everyday conversation, this adverb usually comes before the proposed action and softens the suggestion, making the speaker sound less forceful.

Opposites

Word lists with this word