不 meaning in English

bù

no; not so; (bound form) not; un-

HSK 1adverb4 strokes

Meaning of 不

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

bù

no; not so
(bound form) not; un-

How to use 不

不 goes right before a verb or adjective to make it negative, and it is used for present, future, and habitual actions. It also appears in many set phrases such as 不客气 (bù kèqì) and 对不起 (duìbuqǐ). Example: 我不喝咖啡。(Wǒ bù hē kāfēi.) I don't drink coffee.

Picture the top stroke of 不 (bù) as a ceiling, with lines pushing up against it but unable to pass through. The ceiling says no, so 不 means not.

Common mistake: The tone of 不 changes to second tone before a fourth tone syllable, so 不对 is said bú duì and 不用 is said bú yòng. In questions like 是不是 (shì bu shì) and in 对不起 (duìbuqǐ), it is read lightly with a neutral tone.

不 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

我wǒ不bù知zhī道dào，也yě不bù想xiǎng知zhī道dào。

I don't know, nor do I care.

我wǒ不bù知zhī道dào，他tā也yě不bù知zhī道dào。

I don't know and neither does he.

我wǒ不bù知zhī道dào他tā是shì怎zěn么me样yàng的de一yí个gè人rén。

I don't know what kind of person he is.

我wǒ不bù知zhī道dào我wǒ能néng不bù能néng做zuò。

I don't know if I can do it.

我wǒ在zài想xiǎng你nǐ今jīn天tiān会huì不bú会huì来lái。

I was wondering if you were going to show up today.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

不 bù · no · 4 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 不.

对不起	duìbuqǐ	I'm sorry; excuse me; I beg your pardon; to let (sb) down; to disappoint
是不是	shì bu shì	is or is not (used to form yes-no questions)
不用	bùyòng	need not
不大	bù dà	not very (clear, far away etc); not too; not often; infrequently
不对	bùduì	incorrect; wrong
不客气	bù kèqì	you're welcome; don't mention it
不要	bùyào	don't!; must not
不过	bùguò	only; merely
不错	bùcuò	correct; right
不行	bùxíng	won't do; be out of the question
不同	bù tóng	different; distinct
不好意思	bù hǎoyìsi	to feel embarrassed; to find it embarrassing

Questions about 不

What does 不 mean?

不 (bù) means "no; not so; (bound form) not; un-" and is used as a adverb.

How do you write 不?

不 is made of 1 character: 不 (4 strokes). That is 4 strokes in total.

Is 不 an HSK word?

Yes. 不 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

What is the difference between 不 and 没?

不 negates habits, wishes, and future actions, as in 我不去 (wǒ bú qù), I'm not going. 没 negates past actions or possession, as in 我没去 (wǒ méi qù), I didn't go. Use 没有 (méiyǒu), not 不有, for 'don't have'.

Can 不 be used alone to answer 'no'?

Yes, 不 can stand alone as a short 'no', but Chinese speakers usually repeat the verb in negative form instead. To answer 你是学生吗? (Nǐ shì xuésheng ma?), a natural reply is 不是 (bú shì) rather than only 不.