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HSK 1

不

not; no

adverbneutral
不
bù4th tone

HSK level

1
2
3
4
5
6
Pinyin
bù
Part of speech
adverb
Level
HSK 1
Strokes
4
Register
neutral

Stroke order for 不

不 is written with 4 strokes. The animation replays automatically.

What does 不 mean?

不 (bù) is the all-purpose Mandarin negator, placed directly before a verb or adjective to deny it: 不是 'is not,' 不去 'not going,' 不好 'not good.'

It works for present and future actions and for general states, but it cannot negate the verb 有 — for that you must use 没 (méi). Two things trip English speakers up: first, 不 is a stand-alone negator, not equivalent to English 'don't' or 'won't' — Chinese verbs do not change form, so 我不吃 covers 'I don't eat,' 'I won't eat,' and 'I'm not eating.'

Second, the tone of 不 shifts to bú when followed by a fourth-tone syllable (不是 bú shì, 不要 bú yào). 不 is also the standard one-word answer for 'no' to a yes-no question.

Note: Used in every register. The tone changes from bù to bú before a fourth-tone syllable (e.g., 不是 bú shì), though it is usually still written bù in textbooks.

Example sentences

我不是学生。

Wǒ bú shì xuésheng.

I am not a student.

neutral

他今天不来。

Tā jīntiān bù lái.

He's not coming today.

spoken

这个不好吃。

Zhège bù hǎochī.

This doesn't taste good.

spoken

对不起，我不知道。

Duìbuqǐ, wǒ bù zhīdào.

Sorry, I don't know.

neutral

Common phrases with 不

不是bú shìis not
不要bú yàodon't want; don't (do it)
不行bù xíngno way; not okay
不知道bù zhīdàodon't know
对不起duìbuqǐsorry

Synonyms

没méi

没 negates 有 and past/completed actions (没去 'didn't go,' 没有 'don't have'). 不 negates everything else — present states, future actions, habits, and adjectives.

别bié

别 is the negative command: 别去 'don't go (a request).' 不去 just states 'not going.' Use 别 to tell someone not to do something.

Don't confuse 不 with

没méi

没 is the other negator. Rule of thumb: 没 with 有 and completed actions; 不 everywhere else. 我不去 (I'm not going) vs 我没去 (I didn't go).

布bù

Same pinyin and tone but different character — 布 means 'cloth.' Visually similar to 不 but with an extra stroke. Don't write 我布是 for 'I am not.'

FAQ

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