不成 bùchéng won't do
won't do; unable to; (at the end of a rhetorical question) can that be?
How to remember 不成: 不 not + 成 to become = won't do.
Characters
How it is used
- As a verb complement: 'won't work, can't be done' - 这样不成 (zhèyàng bùchéng) this won't do; 谈不成 (tán bù chéng) fail to reach a deal.
- At the end of a rhetorical question it adds an incredulous 'you mean...?' - 难道你不去不成 (nándào nǐ bú qù bùchéng) don't tell me you're not going?
- Colloquial. Contrast the plain 不行 (bùxíng) which flatly means 'no good'.
Example sentences
- 你难道是吃干饭的？难道就这样算了不成？ Nǐ nándào shì chīgānfàn de? Nándào jiù zhèyàng suàn le bù chéng？Are you that incapable? How can we let it go at that?
- 汤姆说他做不成我们要他做的事。 Tāngmǔ shuō tā zuò bùchéng wǒmen yào tā zuò de shì.Tom said he wouldn't be able to do what we asked him to do.