不怎么 / 不怎么样: not very, nothing special
【六29】【六30】固定短语 / phrases
Tone colorsā tone 1á tone 2ǎ tone 3à tone 4a neutral
不怎么 + adjective or verb means "not very, not really", with a hint of letdown: 这家店不怎么便宜, 他不怎么说话, 我不怎么喜欢辣的. It tones down rather than denies: the quality or the action is there, but below what you expected.
不怎么样 stands alone as a verdict: "nothing special, so-so". It is the typical answer to 怎么样？ ("how is it?"): 这家店怎么样？不怎么样。 It can also follow a noun: 味道不怎么样, 天气不怎么样. It is never followed by an adjective: you say 不怎么好吃 or 不怎么样, not both at once.
It is a spoken, low-key way to criticise: softer than 不好 or 难吃, and more colloquial than 不太 ("not very", neutral). To a superior or in careful writing, 不怎么样 sounds too blunt: prefer 不太理想 or 还不够理想.
Examples
这家店的菜不怎么好吃。
Zhè jiā diàn de cài bù zěnme hǎochī.The food at this place isn't very good.
我弟弟不怎么爱运动。
Wǒ dìdi bù zěnme ài yùndòng.My younger brother isn't very keen on sport.
“新来的老师怎么样？”“不怎么样，上课总是迟到。”
“Xīn lái de lǎoshī zěnmeyàng?” “Bù zěnmeyàng, shàngkè zǒngshì chídào.”"What's the new teacher like?" "Nothing special, he's always late for class."
这部电影评价不怎么样，我就没去看。
Zhè bù diànyǐng píngjià bù zěnmeyàng, wǒ jiù méi qù kàn.The reviews of this film aren't great, so I didn't go and see it.
最近天气不怎么好，我也不怎么想出门。
Zuìjìn tiānqì bù zěnme hǎo, wǒ yě bù zěnme xiǎng chūmén.The weather hasn't been great lately, and I don't much feel like going out.
他嘴上说“还行”，其实对这次旅行不怎么满意。
Tā zuǐ shang shuō “hái xíng”, qíshí duì zhè cì lǚxíng bù zěnme mǎnyì.He says "it was fine", but he isn't really happy with the trip.
Common mistakes
✗ 这家饭店不怎么样好吃 → ✓ 这家饭店不怎么好吃 / 这家饭店不怎么样 (不怎么样 closes the sentence and is not followed by an adjective).
✗ 您的方案不怎么样 → ✓ 您的方案还不够理想 (said to a superior, 不怎么样 is too blunt; soften it).