(bù) - not, no in Mandarin
bùTraditional: 不
Translation
not, no
Word origin
不 is one of the oldest negation characters. Its early graph is variously read as a plant sprout that fails to grow or as a bird ascending in flight; in either account it was borrowed early to write the negative 'not, no'.
- Origin
- ideograph
- Root
- early graph borrowed for negation
Stroke order
不
Examples
。
I don't like coffee.
。
He isn't at home.
。
This isn't a problem.
。
I do not want to eat.
雨。
She does not like the rain.
不 (bù) is the standard negation word in Mandarin, used to negate verbs and adjectives.
Appears in 30 words
Multi-character compounds in the corpus that contain 不.
Used in
Stories
(14)你去吗？
1 min read · Core 1000
不知道在哪里
2 min read · Core 1000
点错了
2 min read · Core 1000
错过公车
3 min read · Core 1000
大伟的工作
3 min read · Core 1000
看医生
3 min read · Core 1000
迷路
3 min read · Core 1000
上班第一天
3 min read · Core 1000
生日的惊喜
3 min read · Core 1000
下雨的下午
3 min read · Core 1000
早上的市场
3 min read · Core 1000
最后的车
3 min read · Core 1000
今年去哪里
4 min read · Core 1000
卖东西的地方
4 min read · Core 1000
Grammar articles
(31)Mandarin Adjectives as Stative Verbs: Why 'I Am Cold' Is 我冷, Not 我是冷
Mandarin Advanced Grammar (C1-C2 / HSK 6+): Chengyu, Classical Remnants, and Register
Approximation and Rounding in Mandarin: 左右, 大概, 差不多, 几 and 来 for About, Around and Roughly
Mandarin Aspect Markers: 了, 在/正在, 过 - the System That Replaces Tense
The Mandarin 被 (bèi) Passive: Saying Something Was Done To the Subject
Mandarin Grammar Cheatsheet: The Essentials, One Page
Mandarin Co-verbs: 从, 到, 在, 用, 坐, 给 - the Prepositions That Look Like Verbs
Mandarin Comparatives: 比, 比较, 最, 跟…一样 and How to Say 'More', 'Most', 'Same As'
Mandarin Complements: 得 for Manner, Directional Endings, and How to Attach a Result to a Verb
Concession in Mandarin: 虽然...还是/但是, 不过, and 还是 (Although, Even So, Nonetheless)
Mandarin Verb Conjugation: Why It Doesn't Exist and What Replaces It
Mandarin Conjunctions: 虽然…但是, 因为…所以, 如果…就 and the Paired Structures That Join Clauses
The Mandarin Copula 是 (shì): To Be, and When to Leave It Out
Asking How + Adjective in Mandarin with 多: 多高, 多远, 多长, 多大
Figurative Directional Complements in Mandarin: 起来, 下去 and 出来 Beyond Up, Down and Out
The Mandarin Durative 着 (zhe): Marking a State That Continues (门开着, 拿着书, 笑着说)
The Experiential 过 (guò) in Mandarin: Saying You Have Ever Done Something
Mandarin Intermediate Grammar (B1-B2 / HSK 4-5): Complements, Conjunctions and the Full 了 System
The Two 了 in Mandarin: Completion 了 After the Verb vs Change-of-State 了 at the End
Mandarin Location and Existence: 在 for Where, 有 for There Is, and the 上/下/里/外 Position Words
Mandarin Modal Verbs: 会, 想, 要, 应该, 可以, 能 and the Future-Intent Words 打算, 准备
Mandarin Negation: 不 (bù) vs 没 (méi), and Why 不有 Does Not Exist
Possession with 有 (yǒu): To Have, and Why It Is Never 不有
Mandarin Potential Complements: Can You Reach the Result? (吃得完, 听不懂, 买不起)
Mandarin Question Formation: 吗, V-Not-V, 还是, and the In-Situ Wh-Word System
Mandarin Requests and Imperatives: 请, 别, 不要, the Softening Particles 吧/啊, and Verb Reduplication
Mandarin Resultative Complements: Fusing a Result onto the Verb (看见, 吃完, 找到)
The Mandarin 是…的 (shì...de) Construction: Highlighting When, Where, and How Something Happened
Topic-Comment Structure in Mandarin: Fronting 这本书我看过 and Why Word Order Bends
Mandarin Word Order: SVO, Topic-Comment, and the 把 Construction That Reorders Everything
Yes-No Questions in Mandarin: 吗 (ma), Echo Answers, and the Bounce-Back 呢 (ne)
Add to review queue
Track this word in your spaced-repetition queue and be tested on it at the right interval.
Go to my review queueThis word is part of lesson 1.