无可厚非
wú kě hòu fēi
understandable; not to be blamed too harshly
Character by character
无wú
not
not
可kě
can
can
厚hòu
severely
severely
非fēi
blame
blame
Example
年轻人想多挣点钱，本来无可厚非，但不能违法。
Young people wanting to earn more is understandable in itself, but they must not break the law.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
A concession, not praise: it often comes with 本来, 也 or 看似 and leads to a 但是. 厚 means heavily and 非 means to blame. Do not confuse it with 无可非议, which means beyond reproach altogether.
Learn this in Lesson 121 · HSK 7–9: 电梯劝烟案 (Court report: the lift smoking case)
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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