不成

• Pinyin: bù chéng
• Hanzi breakdown: 不 = negative particle; 成 = 戈 (weapon) + 丁 (nail/man) — originally 'to complete'

Meaning

Won't do; won't work; unacceptable; used after a verb to indicate inability or failure to achieve a result.

Functions both as a verb complement indicating failure and as an adjective meaning inadequate or unacceptable. Often appears at the end of a sentence as a rhetorical question particle, similar to 'isn't it?' In colloquial speech, adds emphasis to disbelief or incredulity.

Examples

1. 这件事你不帮忙不成，只有你有办法解决这个问题。 You have no choice but to help with this — you're the only one who can solve this problem.
2. 再这样拖下去，项目就要做不成了，我们必须加快进度。 If we keep dragging our feet like this, the project will fail. We need to speed things up.
3. 难道你真的忍心看着他一个人在那里受苦不成？ Can you really bear to watch him suffer alone like that?

Usage Guide

Context: daily conversation, colloquial expression

Tone: emphatic

Do Say

• 你不去不成，大家都在等你呢。(You have to go — everyone's waiting for you.)
• 这事办不成可不行。(This matter has to be done successfully.)

Don't Say

• 这个计划很不成。(Don't use 不成 alone as a predicate adjective — say 行不通 or 不可行 instead)

Origin & History

Compound of 不 (not) and 成 (to succeed, to become). Literally means 'not succeeding' or 'not working out.' This usage dates back to classical Chinese.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal