不久

bùjiǔ

not long (after)

HSK 3

漢字分解

Meaning and Usage

"不久" means "not long" or "soon" and is used to indicate that something will happen or has happened in a short time frame. It is often placed at the beginning or middle of a sentence to describe a near future or recent past event.

Common Collocations

Usage Notes

"不久" is a temporal adverb and is commonly used in both spoken and written Chinese. It emphasizes a short time interval without specifying exact duration. It is more formal than some colloquial expressions like "马上" (immediately) but less formal than precise time expressions.

Avoiding Confusion

Do not confuse "不久" with "" (a long time). "不久" always implies a short time span. Also, it is different from "马上" which implies immediacy; "不久" allows for a short but undefined delay.

例文

他不久就回来了。

Tā bùjiǔ jiù huílái le.

He came back soon.

不久以后,天气变好了。

Bùjiǔ yǐhòu, tiānqì biàn hǎo le.

Soon after, the weather improved.

我们不久就要考试了。

Wǒmen bùjiǔ jiù yào kǎoshì le.

We will have an exam soon.