不亚于
bù yà yú · HSK 7
no less than
💪🏆 bù yà yú = not + inferior + to — literally not lesser than
Each character spells it out: 不 (not) + 亚 (second-place, inferior) + 于 (to/than). So 不亚于 means stands equal or above — no less than. 亚 alone means runner-up (亚军), so negating it promotes you to first.
不 — single pictograph; bird flying upward
Originally a pictograph in oracle bone script, traditionally interpreted as a bird flying up toward the sky and unable to come down, suggesting negation or refusal. Over time it became the standard negation word in Chinese, used before verbs and adjectives to mean 'not'.
于 — two horizontal strokes 二 + vertical hook 亅
于 originated as a pictograph of breath or sound flowing outward, depicting exhalation through a passage. In oracle bone script it resembled a curved line showing motion or extension. Over time it became a grammatical preposition meaning 'at,' 'in,' or 'to,' losing its original concrete sense.