不太【bú tài】

not very, not too, not really, not that, not quite, bu tai

Goes before an adjective or a verb of feeling to mean "not very" or "not really", a gentler no than plain : 。 is "it isn't very cold today".

HSK 2

AI-generated

Structure

[subject] + 不太 + [adjective]

[subject] + 不太 + [verb] + ([object])

Description

不太 before an adjective means "not very". 不 is read bú here, because 太 is fourth tone.

。

It isn't very cold today.

。

I'm not very hungry.

Softer than 不

不好吃 is a flat verdict: the food is bad. 不太好吃 says the same thing gently, and it's what people say to be polite.

。

This dish isn't great.

With verbs

不太 also goes before verbs of liking, knowing and being able: 喜欢, 明白, 会, 习惯, 想.

。

I don't really like coffee.

。

I don't quite understand what you mean.

。

He can't speak much Chinese.

不太 or 太不

Swapping the two words changes the meaning. 太不 is "far too un-": strong criticism.

。

He isn't very careful.

！

He's so careless!

× 他太不高 → 他不太高

No 很

不太 takes the place of 很. The two don't stack.

× 我不太很忙 → 我不太忙
× 很不太好 → 不太好

Examples

。

It isn't very cold today.

。

I'm not very hungry.

。

This dish isn't great.

。

I don't really like coffee.

。

I don't quite understand what you mean.

。

He can't speak much Chinese.

。

He isn't very careful.

。

It isn't very far from here to the subway station.

。

I'm not very busy these days.

。

This top isn't too expensive.

，。

I've only just arrived and I'm not really used to it yet.

。

I don't really feel like going out today.

References

Expressing "not very" with "bu tai"resources.allsetlearning.com

不但…而且

不用