Chinese word

丝毫

Pronunciation

Pinyinsī háo

Meaning

  • adverbat all

Example

他的话我丝毫不在意。tā de huà wǒ sī háo bú zài yì

I don't care about his words at all.

Illustration for 丝毫 (at all)

More examples

即使遭到批评，他也丝毫不为所动。jí shǐ zāo dào pī píng tā yě sī háo bú wèi suǒ dòng

Even when criticized, he was not swayed at all.

Core concept

A vanishingly small amount that becomes emphatically zero in a negative statement.

Common phrases

  • 丝毫不为所动sī háo bú wèi suǒ dòng

    not be swayed at all

  • 丝毫不在意sī háo bú zài yì

    not mind at all

Similar words

毫不háo bù: Expresses complete negation before a verb, often with a firm and decisive tone.
根本gēn běn: Adds the sense that something is not the case at all, even at its basic level.
毫无háo wú: Stresses the complete absence of any amount of an abstract quality, feeling, or possibility.
一点儿也不yì diǎnr yě bù: Expresses in everyday speech that an action or quality is absent to even the smallest degree.

Definition in Chinese

表示极小的程度，常用在否定句中，表示丝毫也没有或完全不的意思。biǎo shì jí xiǎo de chéng dù cháng yòng zài fǒu dìng jù zhōng biǎo shì sī háo yě méi yǒu huò wán quán bù de yì si

Word origin

丝 (sī, "silk thread") + 毫 (háo, "fine hair") combines two images of extreme smallness and gives the word its sense of the slightest degree.

Usage tips

  • In conversational Chinese, this adverb can sound formal and emphatic, so simpler negative patterns often sound more natural in relaxed everyday speech.

Opposites

Word lists with this word