不悱不發 bù fěi bù fā

teach only when the student is eager to ask

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 1. a student should not be guided until he has made an effort to express his thoughts (idiom)

Characters

Character Meaning
不 bù HSK 1
not; no; (negative prefix)
悱 fěi
to want to articulate one's thoughts but be unable to
不 bù HSK 1
not; no; (negative prefix)
發 fā
to send out; to issue; to develop