Kilo Lingo

(zài yě) - never again, not any more in Mandarin

zài

Traditional: 再也

Line drawing of 再也
Coloured illustration of 再也
HSK 4
#851 of 5,000 Core 1000

Translation

never again, not any more

Word origin

A two-character word combining 再 (zài) 'again, once more' and 也 (yě) 'also, even'. 再 is an old indicative character conventionally meaning 'a second time'; 也 was originally a pictograph, later borrowed for its grammatical sense. Together they give the emphatic 'never again' in negative sentences.

Origin
compound
Root
再 (zài, 'again') + 也 (yě, 'also, even')

Other proposed origins

  • The character 也 has a debated original meaning; some analyses take it as a drawing of a serpent, others as a ladle or a womb. (也 (yě), pictograph of disputed referent)

Stroke order

Stroke order for 再

Stroke order for 也

Examples

I will never go there again.

She will never cry again.

He never spoke again.

He never wants to see her again.

rěn

I cannot bear it any longer.

再也 (zài yě) means never again, not any more. It is used as an adverb in everyday Mandarin speech.

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This word is part of lesson 18.