中用

zhōngyòng

adjective #15,357

Meanings

1 useful
2 helpful

Characters

to hit the mark; suitable

Examples

这把刀不中用了，该换一把。

Zhè bǎ dāo bù zhōngyòng le, gāi huàn yī bǎ.

This knife is no longer useful, it's time to get a new one.

学了半天，一点也不中用。

Xué le bàntiān, yīdiǎn yě bù zhōngyòng.

Studied for ages, but it's not helpful at all.

Tips

usage

Most commonly used in the negative: 不中用 (useless, no good). Rarely used in positive form in modern Chinese. Has a colloquial, slightly dialectal flavor.

Stroke Order

中 zhōng

用 yòng