不利 búlì unfavorable
unfavorable; disadvantageous; harmful; detrimental
How to remember 不利: 不 not + 利 benefit = unfavorable.
Characters
How it is used
- Unfavorable/disadvantageous/harmful. 对健康不利 (duì jiànkāng búlì) harmful to health.
- Often 对…不利 (duì…búlì) = detrimental to: 这对我们不利 (zhè duì wǒmen búlì) this works against us.
- 不利 (disadvantageous, about consequences) vs 不好 (bù hǎo, simply 'bad'). 不利 frames a situation as working against someone.
Example sentences
- 警察收集了很多对他不利的证据。 Jǐngchá shōují le hěnduō duì tā búlì de zhèngjù.The police assembled a lot of evidence against him.