不痛不痒 in English bu4 tong4 bu4 yang3 Meaning

Meanings

  • literally (word for word) doesn't hurt, doesn't tickle (idiomatic expression); sth is wrong, but not quite sure what
  • metaphorically not getting to any matter of substance
  • scratching the surface
  • superficial
  • perfunctory

Simplified Characters

不 痛 不 痒

Traditional Characters

不 痛 不 癢

Pinyin

bu4 tong4 bu4 yang3

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

不bu4(negative prefix) 痛tong4ache 不bu4(negative prefix) 痒yang3variant of 癢|痒[yang3]