HSK · Level 2
130 words
Chinese word
不
Pronunciation
Pinyinbù
Meaning
- adverbnot
Example
我不知道。wǒ bù zhī dào
I don't know.
More examples
你不要这个。nǐ bú yào zhè ge
You don't want this.
Core concept
A barrier before an action or state, marking it as not happening, not being true, or not being so.
Common phrases
不知道bù zhī dào
not know
不要bú yào
not want
不对bú duì
be wrong
Similar words
没有méi yǒu: Denies having something or that something happened in the past.
别bié: In informal speech, tells or asks someone not to do an action.
不要bú yào: Says that a future action should not happen, expressing an unwanted action or a prohibition.
Definition in Chinese
表示否定的副词，常置于动词或形容词前，表示不做、不发生或不是的情况。biǎo shì fǒu dìng de fù cí cháng zhì yú dòng cí huò xíng róng cí qián biǎo shì bú zuò bù fā shēng huò bú shì de qíng kuàng
Word origin
In early Chinese writing, 不 (bù, "not") served as a loan character for negation, which explains why its parts do not visibly spell out its present meaning.
Usage tips
- The word 不 (bù, "not") usually covers present or future negatives, while past events commonly use 没 (méi, "not have") or 没有 (méiyǒu, "not have").