Chinese word

微不足道

Pronunciation

Pinyinwēi bù zú dào

Meaning

  • adjectiveinsignificant

Example

微不足道的差别不会影响结果。wēi bù zú dào de chā bié bú huì yíng xiǎng jié guǒ

The insignificant difference will not affect the result.

Illustration for 微不足道 (insignificant)

More examples

有些错误被认为微不足道，但长期来看可能会产生影响。yǒu xiē cuò wù bèi rèn wéi wēi bù zú dào dàn cháng qī lái kàn kě néng huì chǎn shēng yíng xiǎng

Some errors are considered insignificant, but they may have an impact in the long run.

Core concept

A tiny detail that falls below the level of practical importance.

Common phrases

  • 微不足道的错误wēi bù zú dào de cuò wù

    insignificant error

  • 被认为微不足道bèi rèn wéi wēi bù zú dào

    be considered insignificant

Similar words

无关紧要wú guān jǐn yào: Not connected with the main issue and of little importance.
无足轻重wú zú qīng zhòng: Too minor in influence or importance to merit consideration.
不重要bú zhòng yào: Having little importance or value in the situation.
不值一提bù zhí yì tí: So unimportant that there is no need to mention it.

Definition in Chinese

非常小，不值得重视或提及，对结果或整体没有实质影响。fēi cháng xiǎo bù zhí dé zhòng shì huò tí jí duì jié guǒ huò zhéng tǐ méi yǒu shí zhì yíng xiǎng

Word origin

The word joins 微 (wēi, "tiny") with 不足道 (bùzúdào, "not worth mentioning"), giving the image of a small matter that does not merit attention.

Usage tips

  • The judgment focuses on the overall result, so a detail can be real and noticeable while still being described as unimportant in context.

Opposites

  • 重要zhòng yàoimportantadjective
  • 不可忽视bù kě hū shìcannot be ignoredadjective

Word lists with this word