不端 (bùduān): improper

Meanings

1 improper
2 dishonorable; unethical
3 indecent

Characters

不

Examples

他因品行不端被学校开除。

Tā yīn pǐnxíng bùduān bèi xuéxiào kāichú.

He was expelled from school for improper conduct.

这位教授因学术不端遭到了调查。

Zhè wèi jiàoshòu yīn xuéshù bùduān zāodào le diàochá.

This professor is being investigated for academic misconduct.

Tips

usage

Almost always paired with what's improper: 品行不端 (improper conduct), 行为不端 (improper behavior), 学术不端 (academic misconduct — plagiarism, fabricated data), 作风不端 (improper style/morals). Formal/written. The base word 端 means "upright; proper," and 不 negates it — "not upright."