---
title: "Bucheng Meaning: 不成 (bùchéng) Means “won't do”"
description: "不成 (bùchéng) means “won't do; impossible”. Hear its tones, see what 不 and 成 each mean and a real sentence that uses it."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/bucheng"
published: "2026-10-21"
updated: "2026-11-06"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

[What does it mean in Chinese?](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning)

# What does 不成 mean?

猫头鹰māotóuyīngowl

不成 bùchéng

## won't do; impossible

## It can also mean

- (particle) at the end of a rhetorical question (as in 难道…不成)

## Its characters

1. 不 bù not
2. 成 chéng to become

## In a sentence

这样做不成，我们换个办法。 Doing it this way won't work; let's try another approach.

那妖怪一听，吓了一跳：“既是这样，我还是走吧，这夫妻做**不成**了！

From [猪八戒 · Pigsy Joins](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/pigsy-joins-journey-to-the-west-advanced-chinese-15#library-word-547-549)

[More about 不成](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E4%B8%8D%E6%88%90)

## More words with 不 or 成

- [变成 biànchéng](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/biancheng)
- [必不可少 bìbùkěshǎo](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/bibukeshao)
- [不安 bù’ān](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/buan)
- [不必 bùbì](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/bubi)
- [不便 bùbiàn](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/bubian)
- [不曾 bùcéng](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/buceng)
- [不错 bùcuò](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/bucuo)
- [不但 bùdàn](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/budan)
- [不当 bùdàng](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/budang)
- [不得 bùdé](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/bude)

## Keep 不成 for Review

A free account keeps it, and Review brings it back just before you’d forget it.

## Look up another word

## See any word in its sentence

Get a card like this for every word on any page or YouTube subtitle.

[Add to Chrome](https://mandarinthewild.com/go/chrome?from=%2Fmeaning%2Fbucheng) [Read in the Library](https://mandarinthewild.com/library)

[Listening practice in a native voice](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-listening-practice)

[The best LingQ alternatives](https://mandarinthewild.com/guides/lingq-alternatives)