Kilo Lingo

(chú fēi) - unless, only if in Mandarin

chúfēi

Traditional: 除非

Line drawing of 除非
Coloured illustration of 除非
HSK 5
#806 of 5,000 Core 1000

Translation

unless, only if

Word origin

The word 除非 combines 除 'to remove, except' with 非 'not, non-'. 除 is 阜 (mound radical) + 余 (yú) phonetic; 非 is a pictograph of two wings facing apart, used for negation. Together they express 'unless, only if'.

Origin
compound
Root
除 (chú, except: 阜 mound + 余 phonetic) + 非 (fēi, not)

Stroke order

Stroke order for 除

Stroke order for 非

Examples

Unless you apologize, I won't forgive you.

Unless it rains, we will go hiking.

He won't come unless you invite him.

Unless it rains, we will all go.

Only if you apologise will I forgive you.

除非 (chú fēi) means unless, only if. It is used as a conjunction in everyday Mandarin speech.

Used in

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This word is part of lesson 17.