不三不四
bù sān bù sì
Pinyin

Definition

不三不四
 - 
bù sān bù sì
  1. dubious
  2. shady
  3. neither one thing nor the other
  4. neither fish nor fowl
  5. nondescript

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

三
Sān
  1. 1 surname San
不
bù
  1. 1 (negative prefix)
  2. 2 not
  3. 3 no
三亚
Sān yà
  1. 1 Sanya prefecture level city, Hainan
三十
sān shí
  1. 1 thirty
  2. 2 30
三峡
Sān xiá
  1. 1 Three Gorges on the Chang Jiang or Yangtze, namely: Qutang Gorge 瞿塘峽|瞿塘峡[Qú táng Xiá], Wuxia Gorge 巫峽|巫峡[Wū Xiá] and Xiling Gorge 西陵峽|西陵峡[Xī líng Xiá]
  2. 2 Sanxia or Sanhsia town in New Taipei City 新北市[Xīn běi shì], Taiwan
三文鱼
sān wén yú
  1. 1 salmon (loanword)
三星
Sān xīng
  1. 1 Sanxing or Sanhsing township in Yilan county 宜蘭縣|宜兰县[Yí lán xiàn], Taiwan
  2. 2 Samsung (South Korean electronics company)
三更半夜
sān gēng bàn yè
  1. 1 in the depth of the night
  2. 2 very late at night
三月
Sān yuè
  1. 1 March
  2. 2 third month (of the lunar year)
三角
sān jiǎo
  1. 1 triangle
不久
bù jiǔ
  1. 1 not long (after)
  2. 2 before too long
  3. 3 soon
  4. 4 soon after
不亦乐乎
bù yì lè hū
  1. 1 lit. isn't that a joy? (quote from Confucius)
  2. 2 fig. (jocularly) extremely
  3. 3 awfully
不但
bù dàn
  1. 1 not only (... but also...)
不仅
bù jǐn
  1. 1 not only (this one)
  2. 2 not just (...) but also
不利
bù lì
  1. 1 unfavorable
  2. 2 disadvantageous
  3. 3 harmful
  4. 4 detrimental
不到
bù dào
  1. 1 not to arrive
  2. 2 not reaching
  3. 3 insufficient
  4. 4 less than
不同
bù tóng
  1. 1 different
  2. 2 distinct
  3. 3 not the same
  4. 4 not alike
不堪
bù kān
  1. 1 cannot bear
  2. 2 cannot stand
  3. 3 utterly
  4. 4 extremely
不如
bù rú
  1. 1 not equal to
  2. 2 not as good as
  3. 3 inferior to
  4. 4 it would be better to
不妨
bù fáng
  1. 1 there is no harm in
  2. 2 might as well

Idioms (20)

一不做，二不休
yī bù zuò , èr bù xiū
  1. 1 don't do it, or don't rest (idiom); either give up, or go through to the end
  2. 2 Since we started, we must carry it through whatever happens.
  3. 3 in for a penny, in for a pound
一倡三叹
yī chàng sān tàn
  1. 1 (of literature, music) deeply moving (idiom)
一哭二闹三上吊
yī kū èr nào sān shàng diào
  1. 1 to make a terrible scene (idiom)
  2. 2 to throw a tantrum
一问三不知
yī wèn sān bù zhī
  1. 1 lit. to reply "don't know" whatever the question (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. absolutely no idea of what's going on
  3. 3 complete ignorance
一尘不染
yī chén bù rǎn
  1. 1 untainted by even a speck of dust (idiom); selfless and incorruptible
  2. 2 spotless
一字不提
yī zì bù tí
  1. 1 to not mention a single word (about sth) (idiom)
一山不容二虎
yī shān bù róng èr hǔ
  1. 1 lit. the mountain can't have two tigers (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. this town ain't big enough for the two of us
  3. 3 (of two rivals) to be fiercely competitive
一成不变
yī chéng bù biàn
  1. 1 nothing much changes (idiom); always the same
  2. 2 stuck in a rut
一文不值
yī wén bù zhí
  1. 1 worthless (idiom)
  2. 2 no use whatsoever
一日三秋
yī rì sān qiū
  1. 1 a single day apart seems like three seasons (idiom)
一日不见，如隔三秋
yī rì bù jiàn , rú gé sān qiū
  1. 1 one day apart seems like three years (idiom)
一板三眼
yī bǎn sān yǎn
  1. 1 lit. one strong beat and three weak beats in a measure of music (four beats in the bar) (idiom); fig. scrupulous attention to detail
一毛不拔
yī máo bù bá
  1. 1 stingy (idiom)
一瓶子不响，半瓶子晃荡
yī píng zi bù xiǎng , bàn píng zi huàng dang
  1. 1 lit. a full bottle makes no sound; a half-filled bottle sloshes (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. empty vessels make the most noise
一病不起
yī bìng bù qǐ
  1. 1 to fall gravely ill, never to recover (idiom)
一窍不通
yī qiào bù tōng
  1. 1 lit. doesn't (even) enter a single aperture (of one's head)
  2. 2 I don't understand a word (idiom)
  3. 3 it's all Greek to me
一笔不苟
yī bǐ bù gǒu
  1. 1 lit. not even one stroke is negligent (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. to write characters (calligraphy) in which every stroke is placed perfectly
一丝不挂
yī sī bù guà
  1. 1 not wearing one thread (idiom); absolutely naked
  2. 2 without a stitch of clothing
  3. 3 in one's birthday suit
一丝不苟
yī sī bù gǒu
  1. 1 not one thread loose (idiom); strictly according to the rules
  2. 2 meticulous
  3. 3 not one hair out of place
一着不慎，满盘皆输
yī zhāo bù shèn , mǎn pán jiē shū
  1. 1 One careless move and the whole game is lost. (idiom)

Sample Sentences

有一个三口之家，日子过得非常美满。爸爸妈妈都很爱自己刚满三岁的儿子，而他们的儿子也非常聪明可爱，能说会道。但好景不长，爸爸染上了赌博的恶习，然后又勾搭上了 一个不三不四的女人。结果，这个家里每天都是父母的争吵声和孩子的哭闹声。
yǒu yī ge sān kǒu zhī jiā ，rìzi guò de fēicháng měimǎn 。bàba māma dōu hěn ài zìjǐ gāng mǎn sānsuì de érzi ，ér tāmen de érzi yě fēicháng cōngming kěài ，néngshuōhuìdào 。dàn hǎojǐngbùcháng ，bàba rǎn shàng le dǔbó de èxí ，ránhòu yòu gōuda shàng le yī ge bùsānbùsì de nǚrén 。jiéguǒ ，zhè ge jiāli měitiān dōu shì fùmǔ de zhēngchǎoshēng hé háizi de kūnào shēng 。
There was a family of three. They lived happily together. Mommy and Daddy both loved their son, who had just turned three. And their son was extremely smart, cute, and talkative. But the good times didn't last. Daddy got addicted to gambling, and started carrying on with a questionable woman. So their house was filled every day with the sound of the parents' arguments and the child's tantrums.
Go to Lesson 
他常常说一些不三不四的话。
tā chángcháng shuō yīxiē bùsānbùsì de huà 。
He often speaks frivolously.
Go to Lesson 
不要交不三不四的朋友。
bùyào jiāo bùsānbùsì de péngyou 。
Do not make bad friends.
Go to Lesson 
他是个不三不四的人。
tā shì ge bùsānbùsì de rén 。
He is a dubious man.
Go to Lesson 
他这个人不三不四，你小心点。
tā zhè ge rén bùsānbùsì ，nǐ xiǎoxīn diǎn 。
He is very dubious. Be careful.
Go to Lesson 
不三不四
bùsānbùsì
shady, not straightforward, a bit bad
Go to Lesson 
她是个不三不四的女人。
tā shì gè bùsānbùsì de nǚrén 。
She's a shady girl.
Go to Lesson 
你不要跟不三不四的人交朋友。
nǐ bù yào gēn bùsānbùsì de rén jiāo péngyou 。
You don't want to be friends with someone shady.
Go to Lesson 
你穿成这样，像个不三不四的人。
nǐ chuān chéng zhèyàng ，xiàng gè bùsānbùsì de rén 。
Dressed like that, you like a shady character.
Go to Lesson 
他把头发染成五颜六色的，一看就是个不三不四的人。
tā bǎ tóufa rǎn chéng wǔyánliùsè de ，yī kàn jiù shì gè bùsānbùsì de rén 。
His hair is dyed all kinds of different colors. He looks like a bad guy.
Go to Lesson