Chinese word

不定

Pronunciation

Pinyinbù dìng

Meaning

  • adjectiveundecided

Example

日期还不定，我们先不订机票。rì qī hái bú dìng wǒ men xiān bú dìng jī piào

The date is still undecided, so we won't book the plane tickets yet.

Illustration for 不定 (undecided)

More examples

会议的时间不定，请随时关注组织方的通知。huì yì de shí jiān bú dìng qǐng suí shí guān zhù zǔ zhī fāng de tōng zhī

The meeting time is undecided, so please keep checking the organizer's notices.

Core concept

An outcome or condition has not yet taken a firm, predictable shape.

Common phrases

  • 不定期bú dìng qī

    irregular

  • 时间不定shí jiān bú dìng

    time undecided

  • 日期还不定rì qī hái bú dìng

    date still undecided

Similar words

不确定bú què dìng: Not clear or certain yet, especially about a future event or result.
未定wèi dìng: Still awaiting an official decision about its date, details, or content.
暂定zàn dìng: Set only as a temporary arrangement that may be changed later.
待定dài dìng: Left open because a decision has been postponed until later.

Definition in Chinese

表示事物状态不固定、可能发生变化，或结果尚未作出最终决定。biǎo shì shì wù zhuàng tài bú gù dìng kě néng fā shēng biàn huà huò jié guǒ shàng wèi zuò chū zuì zhōng jué dìng

Word origin

The combination 不 (bù, "not") + 定 (dìng, "fixed") creates the basic idea of not being fixed, which extends from pending decisions to changeable states.

Usage tips

  • In everyday scheduling, this word gives a compact status update when a time or arrangement is still open, while English commonly expresses the same status with a phrase such as not set.

Other meanings

  • uncertainadjective
  • unstableadjective

Opposites

Related words

  • 不定期bú dìng qīirregularadjective
  • 不定时bú dìng shíirregularlyadverb
  • 不定性bú dìng xìnguncertaintynoun

Word lists with this word