不止 + 数量 / 不止一次
more than (a number); more than once
Structure
不止 数量 ； 不止一次 动词
What it means
‘More than’ a number, hinting that the figure understates things; 不止一次 means ‘more than once’, i.e. repeatedly.
How it is built
不止 + number: 他攻克的难关不止两百项 (well over two hundred problems). 不止一次 + verb: 我不止一次提醒过他 (I have reminded him more than once).
When to use it
Before numbers write 不止, not 不只; 不只 means only ‘not only’ (不只是我). In formal writing 不止 after a verb means ‘without stopping’: 大笑不止.
Watch out
Do not add 多: ✗ 不止两百多项 ✓ 不止两百项. 不止 already says ‘more than’.
Examples
他攻克的航天焊接难关不止两百项。
He has overcome more than two hundred difficult problems in aerospace welding.
这个问题我已经不止一次跟你说过了。
I have told you about this more than once.
今天来排队的不止三百人，店里的面包一会儿就卖完了。
More than three hundred people queued today, and the shop’s bread sold out in no time.
Learn this in Lesson 183 · HSK 7–9: 大国工匠 (Master craftsmen)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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