HSK 5 · Function Words

未必 wèibì “not necessarily” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 未必 means

  1. not necessarily
  2. maybe not

How to say 未必

  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale未wèi4th tone, falling
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale必bì4th tone, falling

未必 in a sentence

  1. 这项工作未必容易。

    Zhè xiàng gōngzuò wèibì róngyì.

    This job isn’t necessarily easy.

    Sentence #407299 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 有钱人未必比穷人幸福。

    Yǒuqián rén wèibì bǐ qióngrén xìngfú.

    Rich people aren’t necessarily happier than poor people.

    Sentence #8591290 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 这些资料未必可靠。

    Zhèxiē zīliào wèibì kěkào.

    This information isn’t necessarily reliable.

    Sentence #385577 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

How 未必 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 未 (wèi) with each of its parts in a different colour
未wèinot yet
  • 一one · yī
  • 木tree · mù
The character 必 (bì) with each of its parts in a different colour
必bìcertainly
  • 心heart · xīn
  • 丿slash · piě

How to write 未必

未 5 strokes · 必 5 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

未必 (wèibì) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 未必 (wèibì). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 未必

Words with 未

未来wèilái · future未免wèimiǎn · rather

Words with 必

必须bìxū · must必要bìyào · necessary必然bìrán · inevitable何必hébì · there is no need势必shìbì · bound to务必wùbì · must

More words: Function Words & Grammar

通常tōngcháng · regular团tuán · group万一wànyī · just in case唯一wéiyī · only勿wù · do not (formal无数wúshù · countless显然xiǎnrán · clearly相当xiāngdāng · equivalent to

FAQs

未必 (wèibì) means “not necessarily” or “maybe not”. It is an HSK 5 word.
Say it wèibì: wèi with a 4th tone, then bì with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 未必 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type weibi with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 未必 from the suggestions. Typing weibi into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
未必 is an HSK 5 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

Turn words into conversations

A dictionary gives you the words. A native teacher shows you how to use them. Start with a free 30-minute intro call.

Book a free intro call

Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.