不及

bùjí

verb #22,093

Meanings

1 to fall short of
2 not as good as
3 not up to
4 too late (to do something)

Characters

to reach, to attain, to be in time for

Examples

他的中文水平不及她。

Tā de Zhōngwén shuǐpíng bùjí tā.

His Chinese level doesn't measure up to hers.

事情来得太突然，措手不及。

Shìqing lái de tài tūrán, cuòshǒu bùjí.

Things came too suddenly — he was caught off guard.

百闻不如一见，千见不及一试。

Bǎi wén bùrú yī jiàn, qiān jiàn bùjí yī shì.

Hearing a hundred times is not as good as seeing once; seeing a thousand times falls short of trying once.

Tips

grammar

不及 has two main uses: (1) comparison — 'not as good as' (A不及B); (2) timing — 'too late to' (来不及). The idiom 措手不及 (caught off guard) is a common fixed expression.

Stroke Order

不 bù

及 jí