Chinese word

不小心

Pronunciation

Pinyinbù xiǎo xīn

Meaning

  • adverbaccidentally

Example

我不小心把杯子打碎了。wǒ bù xiǎo xīn bǎ bēi zi dǎ suì le

I accidentally broke the cup.

Illustration for 不小心 (accidentally)

More examples

他不小心摔倒了，膝盖流血了。tā bù xiǎo xīn shuāi dǎo le xī gài liú xuè le

He accidentally fell down, and his knee was bleeding.

Core concept

A careless moment viewed through its unintended result, often used to explain an event without stressing blame.

Common phrases

  • 不小心把杯子打碎了bù xiǎo xīn bǎ bēi zi dǎ suì le

    accidentally break a cup

  • 不小心说错话bù xiǎo xīn shuō cuò huà

    accidentally say the wrong thing

  • 不小心摔倒了bù xiǎo xīn shuāi dǎo le

    accidentally fall down

Similar words

一不小心yí bù xiǎo xīn: Unintentionally doing something because of a slight moment of carelessness.
无意间wú yì jiān: Doing something by accident, with no intention for it to happen.
不经意bù jīng yì: Doing something without being aware of it or meaning to do it.

Definition in Chinese

用来表示由于粗心或不注意而无意地做了某事，常用在道歉或解释时以弱化责任感并说明经过yòng lái biǎo shì yóu yú cū xīn huò bú zhù yì ér wú yì dì zuò le mǒu shì cháng yòng zài dào qiàn huò jiě shì shí yǐ ruò huà zé rèn gǎn bìng shuō míng jīng guò

Word origin

不 (bù, "not") + 小 (xiǎo, "small") + 心 (xīn, "heart") form 不小心 (bùxiǎoxīn, "not careful"), whose literal idea of lacking care develops into a way to mark an unplanned action.

Usage tips

  • English often makes a broad judgment about a person's habits, while this Chinese adverb usually marks one particular mishap and its immediate circumstances.

Other meanings

  • carelessadjective

Opposites

Word lists with this word