不久

bù jiǔ

HSK 3.0 Level 3 Adjective Common

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Definitions

1. not long (after)
2. before too long
3. soon
4. soon after

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Word relationships

Antonyms

1 item

• 好久 hǎo jiǔ 好久 hǎo jiǔ quite a while Opposite meaning 'for a long time': quite a while

Related words

2 items

• 马上 mǎ shàng 马上 mǎ shàng at once Also means 'soon' but more immediate: at once
• 一会儿 yī huì r 一会儿 yī huì r a while Means 'a little while', time-related: a while

Usage notes

Collocations

不久 often appears in the pattern 不久后 (not long after) or 前不久 (not long ago).

Common mistakes

Don't confuse with 久 without 不; 不久 is not simply 'not long' but 'soon' or 'before long'.

Example Sentences

3 shown

不久 ，他就回家了。

Soon, he went back home.

不久 前。

Source: Tatoeba.org (ID 9969997)

他們剛結婚 不久 。

Source: Tatoeba.org (ID 10320818)

Sentence data courtesy of Tatoeba.org. AI-generated examples are marked with this icon.

Words Containing 不久

• 前不久 前不久 qián bù jiǔ: not long ago
• 不久前 不久前 bù jiǔ qián: not long ago
• 命不久已 命不久已 mìng bù jiǔ yǐ: at death's door

Child Words of 不久

• 不 不 bù: no; not so
• 久 久 jiǔ: (long) time