今天不行
The English phrase "not today" can be translated into Chinese as 今天不行.
今天不行 is used to decline an invitation, a request or to state that a certain action cannot be performed on the current day.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of 今天 (today) and 不行 (not okay/not possible).
Did you know?
- While 不行 literally means 'not okay', it is the same word used to describe someone who lacks the skill or competence to do a task, effectively calling them 'no good'.
- The character 行 in 不行 is a polyphone. While it is pronounced 'xíng' when meaning 'okay' or 'possible', it is pronounced 'háng' when referring to a professional trade or a row of items.
- If a Chinese speaker wants to be extremely polite when saying 'not today', they may avoid the word 不 (no) entirely and instead say they are 不方便, which means 'inconvenient'.
Examples in context
- 非常抱歉，今天不行。我有其他紧急的工作要处理。I am very sorry, not today. I have other urgent work to handle.
- 今天不行，我有事。Jīntiān bùxíng, wǒ yǒu shì.Not today, I have something to do.
- 真的很抱歉，今天不行。Zhēn de hěn bàoqiàn, jīntiān bùxíng.I'm really sorry, not today.
- 我也想去，但今天不行。Wǒ yě xiǎng qù, dàn jīntiān bùxíng.I want to go too, but not today.
Example conversation
Xiaowen invites Haoran to go see a movie.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen浩然，我们今天去看电影吧？Hàorán, wǒmen jīntiān qù kàn diànyǐng ba?Haoran, shall we go see a movie today?
- 浩然 Haoran今天不行，我太累了。Jīntiān bùxíng, wǒ tài lèi le.Not today, I'm too tired.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen那明天怎么样？Nà míngtiān zěnmeyàng?Then how about tomorrow?
- 浩然 Haoran明天可以，没问题。Míngtiān kěyǐ, méi wèntí.Tomorrow works, no problem.
