Definition
不外乎 is a fixed expression meaning 'nothing more than' or 'boils down to' — it introduces the essential, limited set of possibilities or reasons for something. You use it to say that something is not beyond a certain scope, often to summarize or simplify. It's a formal, written-style expression common in analysis, explanations, and arguments.
v.
nothing more thanboils down tonot beyond the scope of
Examples
- 不外乎：、、。Tā shībài de yuányīn bú nà jǐ zhǒng: bú gòu nǔlì, fāngfǎ bú duì, yùnqì bù hǎo.The reasons for his failure boil down to a few: not working hard enough, wrong method, and bad luck.
- 不外乎：。Wèntí de héxīn bú yí gè: rúhé tígāo xiàolǜ.The core of the problem is nothing more than one thing: how to improve efficiency.
- 不外乎：。Zhèxiē jiànyì de nèiróng bú liǎng diǎn: jiéyuē chéngběn hé tígāo zhìliàng.The content of these suggestions boils down to two points: cutting costs and improving quality.
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