Chinese word

瞧不起

Pronunciation

Pinyinqiáo bù qǐ

Meaning

  • verblook down on

Example

他总是瞧不起我。tā zǒng shì qiáo bù qǐ wǒ

He always looks down on me.

Illustration for 瞧不起 (look down on)

More examples

他总觉得周围的人在瞧不起他的出身。tā zǒng jué de zhōu wéi de rén zài qiáo bù qǐ tā de chū shēn

He always feels that people around him look down on his background.

Core concept

Regard someone as inferior and treat that person as unworthy of serious attention.

Common phrases

  • 瞧不起他的才能qiáo bù qǐ tā de cái néng

    look down on his talent

  • 瞧不起别人qiáo bù qǐ bié rén

    look down on others

Similar words

看不起kàn bù qǐ: Judging someone's ability or worth as low and treating that person with contempt.
轻蔑qīng miè: Showing contempt for someone through a scornful face, voice, or manner.
轻视qīng shì: Regarding a person or thing as unimportant and showing little respect for it.
小看xiǎo kàn: Underestimating someone's ability or achievements and treating them lightly.

Definition in Chinese

用带有蔑视或不尊重的态度对待某人，表示认为对方无能、低下或不值得重视。yòng dài yǒu miè shì huò bù zūn zhòng de tài dù duì dài mǒu rén biǎo shì rèn wéi duì fāng wú néng dī xià huò bù zhí dé zhòng shì

Word origin

瞧不起 (qiáobùqǐ, "look down on") is a colloquial variant of 看不起 (kànbuqǐ, "not regard highly"), the negative counterpart of 看得起 (kàndeqǐ, "regard highly").

Usage tips

  • The word expresses a strong personal judgment rather than simple doubt about ability, so it fits conflicts and complaints more than neutral descriptions of a poor result.

Other meanings

  • belittleverb
  • despiseverb
  • underestimateverb

Opposites

Related words

  • 瞧见qiáo jiàncatch sight ofverb

Word lists with this word