Chinese Conversation · Level 71
90 words
Chinese word
未必
Pronunciation
Pinyinwèi bì
Meaning
- adverbnot necessarily
Example
贵的未必好。guì de wèi bì hǎo
Expensive things are not necessarily good.
More examples
你说的未必是真的。nǐ shuō de wèi bì shì zhēn de
What you said is not necessarily true.
Core concept
Marks a gap between what may be true and what must be true.
Common phrases
未必是wèi bì shì
not necessarily ___
未必会wèi bì huì
may not ___
未必能wèi bì néng
may not be able to ___
Similar words
不一定bù yí dìng: Says that a result is not guaranteed and could turn out differently.
不见得bú jiàn de: Says that surface evidence does not prove that something is true.
Definition in Chinese
用来表示某种判断或评价并非绝对成立，强调不能以绝对眼光看待该事。yòng lái biǎo shì móu zhǒng pàn duàn huò píng jià bìng fēi jué duì chéng lì qiáng diào bù néng yǐ jué duì yǎn guāng kàn dài gāi shì
Word origin
未必 (wèibì, "not necessarily") joins 未 (wèi, "not yet") with 必 (bì, "certainly"), expressing that a required conclusion has not been established.
Usage tips
- The word is useful when correcting an overconfident assumption because it leaves the opposite result possible rather than stating that the first result is impossible.