不行

bù xíng

HSK 3.0 Level 3 Verb Very common

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Definitions

1. won't do
2. be out of the question
3. be no good
4. not work
5. not be capable

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Word relationships

Antonyms

1 item

• 可以 kě yǐ 可以 kě yǐ can 可以 means 'can' or 'may', the positive counterpart of 不行.: can

Related words

1 item

• 行 xíng 行 xíng to walk 行 alone means 'OK' or 'capable', used in positive contexts.: to walk

Usage notes

Formality

不行 is informal; in formal contexts, use 不可以 or 不能 for prohibition.

Example Sentences

4 shown

他的回答很干脆，直接说 不行 。

His reply was very direct; he straightforwardly said no.

不行 ！

Source: Tatoeba.org (ID 13205173)

不行 。

Source: Tatoeba.org (ID 13504664)

不來 不行 ，我們人數不夠！

Source: Tatoeba.org (ID 1708539)

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

Words Containing 不行

• 不行了 不行了 bù xíng le: (coll.) on the point of death
• 到不行 到不行 dào bù xíng: extremely
• 土到不行 土到不行 tǔ dào bù xíng: extremely kitsch
• 决而不行 决而不行 jué ér bù xíng: making decisions without implementing them

Child Words of 不行

• 不 不 bù: no; not so
• 行 行 háng: row
• 行 行 xíng: to walk