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How to Say ‘Not enough’ in Traditional Chinese

不夠

bù gòu

[boo goh]

💬 Usage Tip: Adjectives like [夠] can be the whole predicate in Chinese, so [不夠] works as a full sentence: "it's not enough." The same pattern works with [不行] or [不方便].

Phrase Breakdown

[boo]

not

A basic negation word used before adjectives or verbs.

Example

現金不夠,我需要別的方法。

The cash is not enough; I need another method.

gòu

[goh]

enough; sufficient

Means enough in amount or sufficient for a need.

Example

我帶的錢不夠。

I didn’t bring enough money.

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