不怎么
bù zěn me · HSK 6
not very
不 (not) + 怎么 (how/in what way) = not how-so = not very
不 negates and 怎么 means how or in what way; together they soften to not particularly. Common in 不怎么好 (not that good) or 不怎么样 (so-so), where it downplays rather than flatly denies.
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'.