要不是
yàobùshì
conjunctionHSK 7-9
“If it were not for” in Chinese is 要不是 (yàobùshì).
Meaning
- if it were not for
- but for
Example
要不是他这么磨磨蹭蹭，现在早做完了。
If he hadn't wasted time, he'd be finished by now.
Example sentence from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0).
Characters
More HSK 7-9 words
争执zhēngzhíto disputeHSK 7-9内向nèixiàngreserved (personality)HSK 7-9修正xiūzhèngto revise; to amend; to rectifyHSK 7-9整数zhěngshùwhole numberHSK 7-9中庸zhōngyōngthe Doctrine of the Mean, one of the Four Books 四書|四书[Si4 shu1]HSK 7-9废寝忘食fèiqǐn-wàngshíto skip one's sleep and meals; to be completely wrapped up in one's workHSK 7-9亲近qīnjìn(of people or relationships) close; intimateHSK 7-9画蛇添足huàshé-tiānzúlit. draw legs on a snake (idiom); fig. to ruin the effect by adding sth superfluousHSK 7-9杨树yángshùpoplar treeHSK 7-9天赋tiānfùgiftHSK 7-9