不慎
bù shèn · HSK 7
incautious
⚠️ 不 (not) + 慎 (careful) = not careful, careless
慎 means cautious or prudent on its own. Adding 不 (not) flips it: someone who is 不慎 has dropped their guard. Often used in phrases like 不慎摔倒 — carelessly tripped and fell.
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'.