v.
not less than; as many as
不下
not less than; as many as
Complement meaning unable to fit or hold (不 not + 下 down/in); used after verbs: 坐不下 (cannot fit everyone to sit).
Common Usage & Traps
- 不下十个人 — no fewer than ten people; at least ten people
- 不下百次 — no fewer than a hundred times; at least a hundred times
- 不下三小时 — at least three hours; three hours or more
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不下很多不少 / 很多不下 must be followed by a real number. 很多 is vague, so it cannot fill that slot. Use 不少 or 很多 for 'quite a few'.
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这个箱子不下这个箱子装不下Standalone 不下 never means 'can't fit'. That meaning belongs to the verb-plus-不下 pattern like 装不下 or 放不下, which requires a verb in front.
In 雨不下了, why does 不下 mean 'the rain stopped' and not 'no less than'?
Here 不下 is just 不 plus the verb 下 — it means the falling stopped.
In 雨不下了 the characters are just 不 plus the verb 下. The rain's falling has ended, nothing more. Compare the fixed phrase 不下十个人, which really means 'no fewer than ten people'. Same two characters, two completely different jobs. When no number follows, 不下 is usually plain negation of a verb.
“雨不下了。” (The rain has stopped.)
“雨不下了。” (The rain has stopped.)
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning in 雨不下了 | the rain isn't falling anymore | reading it as 'no less than' |
| Structure here | 不 + verb 下 | treating 不下 as one fixed word |
| With a number after | 不下十个人 (no fewer than ten) | using it with no number at all |
Can you say 不下很多 to mean 'quite a few'?
不下 always needs a real number after it — 不下很多 is broken, so use 不少.
You say 不下十个人, 不下百次, 不下三小时 — a real number always follows. You cannot attach a vague word like 很多, because that slot needs a specific count. For 'quite a few' or 'a lot', Chinese uses 不少 or 很多 instead. So 不下很多 sounds broken to native ears.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| What follows it | a concrete number (不下十个人) | a vague word (不下很多) |
| Vague 'quite a few' | 不少 / 很多 | 不下 |
| Example | 来过不下五趟 | 来过不下很多趟 |
What's the difference between 来了不下五十人 and 来了不到五十人?
不下 means no fewer than; 不到 means fewer than — opposite directions.
不下 and 不到 both estimate a count, but they point in opposite directions. 不下五十人 means fifty or more turned up. 不到五十人 means fewer than fifty turned up. Pick the wrong one and you flip the entire meaning of the sentence.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Direction | no fewer than / at least (不下) | fewer than / under (不到) |
| Fifty or more | 来了不下五十人 | 来了不到五十人 |
| Fewer than fifty | 来了不到五十人 | 来了不下五十人 |
Is the 不下 in 放不下 the same as the 不下 in 不下十个人?
No — 放不下 means 'can't fit', a different beast from 'no less than'.
放不下, 装不下 and 吃不下 all mean 'can't fit' or 'can't take any more'. Here 不下 is a verb ending, so a verb must sit right in front of it. Alone, 不下 never means 'can't fit' — it means 'no less than'. To tell them apart, just check whether a verb comes before it.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Structure | verb + 不下 (放不下, 装不下) | 不下 standing alone |
| Meaning | can't fit / can't finish | no less than (with a number) |
| Example | 箱子太小, 装不下 | 箱子太小, 不下 |
Featured in Story Deep Dive
Follow how this word unfolds across the narrative arc of this graded story.
Before you read, close your eyes and imagine a rainy afternoon. This story uses simple HSK 1 words to show how rain can become a talking friend.
- Scene #1
雨 不下 了。
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