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.
不bùno; not so
不 is a single shape of 4 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.
Memory aidPicture a bar 一 across the top that nothing below can get past: not, no.
时shío’clock
日sun · rìMeaning part
寸inch · cùn
Memory aidThe sun 日 marks the time of day. In the full form 時, 寺 (sì) gave the sound.
How to write 不时
不 4 strokes · 时 7 strokes
Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.
Stroke order chart for 不时 (bùshí). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.
不时 (bùshí) means “frequently” or “from time to time”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it bùshí: bù with a 4th tone, then shí with a 2nd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 不时 is written 不時. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type bushi with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 不时 from the suggestions. Typing bushi into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
不时 is an HSK 6 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.
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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.
不bù4th tone, falling
时shí2nd tone, rising
