Sentence #3526290 from Tatoeba · translation adapted
How 不足 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.
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.
足zúfoot; leg
足 is a single shape of 7 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.
Memory aidDrawn from a leg with a foot below: foot. You see it on the left of 跑 (pǎo) “run”, 跳 (tiào) “jump” and 踢 (tī) “kick”.
How to write 不足
不 4 strokes · 足 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 不足 (bùzú). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.
不足 (bùzú) means “insufficient” or “lacking”. It is an HSK 5 word.
Say it bùzú: bù with a 4th tone, then zú with a 2nd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 不足 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type buzu with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 不足 from the suggestions. Typing buzu into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
不足 is an HSK 5 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
足zú2nd tone, rising
