Chinese word

无关紧要

Pronunciation

Pinyinwú guān jǐn yào

Meaning

  • adjectiveunimportant

Example

这件事无关紧要，别担心。zhè jiàn shì wú guān jǐn yào bié dān xīn

This matter is unimportant, so don't worry.

Illustration for 无关紧要 (unimportant)

More examples

这些细节对结果无关紧要，可以暂时忽略。zhè xiē xì jié duì jié guǒ wú guān jǐn yào ké yǐ zàn shí hū lüè

These details are unimportant to the result, so they can be ignored for now.

Core concept

An issue is present but carries too little weight to change the matter being considered.

Common phrases

  • 无关紧要的细节wú guān jǐn yào de xì jié

    unimportant details

  • 无关紧要的问题wú guān jǐn yào de wèn tí

    an unimportant issue

Similar words

不重要bú zhòng yào: Lacking importance and not needing special attention.
微不足道wēi bù zú dào: So small or lacking in value that it hardly matters.
无足轻重wú zú qīng zhòng: Having so little influence or weight that it does not need consideration.

Definition in Chinese

对当前情况没有影响或价值，不值得特别注意的事或情形。duì dāng qián qíng kuàng méi yǒu yíng xiǎng huò jià zhí bù zhí dé tè bié zhù yì de shì huò qíng xíng

Word origin

无关紧要 (wúguānjǐnyào, "unimportant") is formed from 无关 (wúguān, "unrelated") and 紧要 (jǐnyào, "important"), so the phrase marks something as unrelated to what matters and not important.

Usage tips

  • This word commonly sets aside a detail, issue, or event while leaving its truth unstated, which makes it useful for narrowing a discussion without denying a fact.

Other meanings

  • irrelevantadjective
  • insignificantadjective

Opposites

Word lists with this word