不肖 búxiào unlike one's parents
(literary) unlike one's parents; degenerate; unworthy
How to remember 不肖: 不 not + 肖 to resemble = unlike one's parents.
Characters
How it is used
- Literary word for an unworthy or degenerate person, especially one who fails to live up to their parents/ancestors - 不肖子孙 (búxiào zǐsūn) unworthy descendants.
- Almost always in fixed phrases like 不肖之徒 (búxiào zhī tú, a good-for-nothing); rare in speech.
- Note the reading búxiào, and don't confuse the 肖 here (resemble, xiào) with the surname reading.