HSK 1

不 (bù) — how to say "no" in Chinese

不

No, not

negation adverb

How to use it

Goes before a verb or adjective.

我不吃肉。

wǒ bù chī ròu

I don't eat meat.

Rule: Standard negation with "不 (bù)" →

Radicals / Keys

一

One

#1 · yī · 1 stroke

Collocations

不是

bú shì

is not

不去

bú qù

not go

不知道

bù zhīdào

don't know

Examples

我不想去医院,我想在家。

I don't want to go to the hospital, I want to be at home.

我不去

I will not go.

Mnemonic

Mnemonic for 不 (bù) — no, not

[bù-] Buffy the Vampire Slayer stands before a 不 "NO" sign in the cemetery 🚫. The sign reads: "不 NO VAMPIRES ALLOWED!" Buffy nods, knowing that tonight there will be 不 no vampire trouble in this area.

Writing

Frequently asked questions

No in Chinese Mandarin

"no" in Chinese is 不 (bù).

不 meaning in English

不 (bù) means "No, not".

No in Mandarin pronunciation

It is pronounced bù (written as bu). You can listen to the pronunciation on this page.

How do you write "no" in Chinese characters?

It is written 不 and has 4 strokes. The Writing section above animates the stroke order and lets you trace it.

What HSK level is 不?

不 belongs to the HSK 1 vocabulary list.

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Grammar with 不

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