HSK 5 · Adjectives

根本 gēnběn “(not) at all” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 根本 means

  1. (not) at all
  2. simply
  3. fundamental
  4. basic
  5. root
More meanings from CC-CEDICT
  • absolutely (not)

Measure word 个 gè · 一个根本 yí ge gēnběn

How to say 根本

  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale根gēn1st tone, high and level
  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale本běn3rd tone, dipping

根本 in a sentence

  1. 他根本不相信我。

    Tā gēnběn bù xiāngxìn wǒ.

    He doesn’t believe me at all.

    Sentence #408843 from Tatoeba

  2. 实际上他根本没有去考试。

    Shíjìshàng tā gēnběn méiyǒu qù kǎoshì.

    In fact, he didn’t even sit the exam.

    Sentence #2076269 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 我们从根本问题入手吧。

    Wǒmen cóng gēnběn wèntí rùshǒu ba.

    Let’s start with the fundamental issues.

    Sentence #13901072 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 根本 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 根 (gēn) with each of its parts in a different colour
根gēnroot
  • 木tree · mùMeaning part
  • 艮stopping · gěnSound part

木 hints at the meaning (tree); 艮 (gěn) hints at the sound. Compare it with gēn.

The character 本 (běn) with each of its parts in a different colour
本běnroot; stem
  • 木tree · mù
  • 一one · yī

Memory aidA tree 木 with a mark 一 on its roots: root, origin.

How to write 根本

根 10 strokes · 本 5 strokes

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

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

Words related to 根本

Words with 根

根据gēnjù · according to根gēn · root根源gēnyuán · root根深蒂固gēnshēndìgù · deep-rooted归根到底guīgēndàodǐ · in the final analysis

Words with 本

本běn · measure word for books本子běnzi · book课本kèběn · textbook笔记本bǐjìběn · notebook本来běnlái · original本科běnkē · undergraduate course本领běnlǐng · skill本质běnzhì · essence基本jīběn · basic本钱běnqián · capital

More words: Adjectives

疯狂fēngkuáng · crazy干脆gāncuì · simply高档gāodàng · superior quality个别gèbié · individual公平gōngpíng · fair乖guāi · (of a child) obedient光滑guānghuá · glossy光明guāngmíng · bright

FAQs

根本 (gēnběn) means “(not) at all” or “simply”. It is an HSK 5 word.
Say it gēnběn: gēn with a 1st tone, then běn with a 3rd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 根本 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Use 个 (gè). For example, one (not) at all is 一个根本 (yí ge gēnběn).
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type genben with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 根本 from the suggestions. Typing genben into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
根本 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.