Meaning of 没
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- (negative prefix for verbs) have not; not
- drowned
- to end
- to die
- to inundate
How to use 没
In daily speech 没 (méi) negates 有 (yǒu) and marks actions that did not happen or have not happened yet. It is often used alone as a short form of 没有. Example: 我还没吃饭。(Wǒ hái méi chī fàn.) I haven't eaten yet.
没 has the water radical 氵 on the left. Picture something sinking under water until it is gone, which links to the old meaning mò (to drown, to sink) and the everyday meaning méi (to not have).
Common mistake: Learners often use 不 (bù) where 没 is needed. Say 我没有钱 (wǒ méiyǒu qián), not 我不有钱, and use 没 rather than 不 for past actions, as in 他昨天没来 (tā zuótiān méi lái).
没 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
没 méi · have not · 7 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 没.
| 没有 | méiyǒu | haven't; hasn't |
| 没什么 | méi shénme | it doesn't matter; it's nothing; never mind; think nothing of it; it's my pleasure; you're |
| 没关系 | méi guānxi | it doesn't matter |
| 没事儿 | méishìr | to have spare time; free from work |
| 没用 | méiyòng | useless |
| 没错 | méi cuò | that's right; sure! |
| 没想到 | méi xiǎngdào | didn't expect |
| 没法儿 | méifǎr | (coll.) can't do anything about it; (coll.) there's no way that ...; it's simply not credi |
| 有没有 | yǒu méiyǒu | (before a noun) Do (you, they etc) have ...?; Is there a ...? |
| 从没 | cóng méi | never (in the past); never did |
| 没收 | mòshōu | to confiscate; to seize |
| 没意思 | méi yìsi | boring; of no interest |
Questions about 没
What does 没 mean?
没 (méi) means "(negative prefix for verbs) have not; not" and is used as a adverb and verb.
How do you write 没?
没 is made of 1 character: 没 (7 strokes). That is 7 strokes in total.
Is 没 an HSK word?
Yes. 没 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 没 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 没 is written 沒.
What is the difference between 没 and 不?
没 negates having and negates actions that did not happen or have not happened yet. 不 negates habits, the present, the future, and wishes, as in 我不去 (wǒ bù qù), I am not going. 有 can only be negated with 没.
When is 没 pronounced mò?
It is read mò in words related to sinking, flooding, or disappearing, such as 淹没 (yānmò, to flood or submerge) and 出没 (chūmò, to appear and disappear). In everyday negation it is always méi.