How to say “look down on” in Chinese
look down on, despise
“Look down on” in Chinese is 看不起, kàn bu qǐ: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
看不起 is read kàn bu qǐ: 3 syllables. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
A hand 手 above an eye 目.
Before a fourth tone it is read bú: 不是 bú shì.
On the left, 走 “walk”.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “看不起”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 看不起. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 不要看不起别人。búyàokànbuqǐbiérénDon't look down on others.
- 我最讨厌看不起别人的人wǒzuìtǎoyànkànbuqǐbiérénderénWhat I dislike most is people who look down on others.
More words from the lesson “Respect and looking down”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “look down on” in Chinese?
“Look down on” in Chinese is 看不起, pinyin kànbuqǐ.
What does 看不起 mean?
看不起 (kànbuqǐ) means “look down on, despise”.
How do you write 看不起?
看不起 is 3 characters: 看 (kàn) — look, watch; 不 (bù) — not, no; 起 (qǐ) — rise, get up. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 看不起?
看不起 is read kànbuqǐ. Tones: kàn — fourth tone, bu — neutral tone, qǐ — third tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“look down on” in the lesson “Respect and looking down”
This word is from the topic “Character and behavior” of HSK 6. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
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