不至于【búzhìyú】

不至于 goes before a verb or adjective and says things won't go as far as that: the worse outcome named after it is ruled out. It's used in speech and writing alike.

With 还, 也 and 吧

还不至于 is "not yet that bad". 也不至于 often follows a concession: even so, it won't come to that. 吧 at the end turns the claim into reassurance.

On its own, 不至于吧 answers someone who sounds too gloomy: "it won't come to that, surely".

Only for an extreme

The thing after 不至于 has to be worse or more extreme than what is actually going on. For a plain "no", use 不 or 不会.

• × 明天不至于是星期三 → 明天不是星期三
• × 他不至于喜欢咖啡 → 他不喜欢咖啡

The question 至于吗, "is that really necessary?", challenges an overreaction from the other side.