不起

Chinese
not; no to rise; to raise; to get up
trad. (不起) 不 起
simp. #(不起) 不 起

Pronunciation

Particle

不起

  1. (used after verbs) cannot afford to ...
    買不起／买不起  ―  mǎi bùqǐ  ―  too expensive to buy
    玩不起  ―  wán bùqǐ  ―  cannot afford to be played
    牙醫貴到我都看不起了。 [MSC, trad.]
    牙医贵到我都看不起了。 [MSC, simp.]
    Yáyī guì dào wǒ dōu kàn bùqǐ le. [Pinyin]
    Dentists are so expensive that I can't afford to go to visit.
    對不起／对不起  ―  duìbùqǐ  ―  cannot afford to face [the other party] [due to shame] → sorry
  2. (used after verbs) do not wish to ... (in contempt)
    看不起  ―  kànbùqǐ  ―  to look down upon

Verb

不起

  1. (literary) to be unable to get up (e.g. to sickness)

See also

Derived terms
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