The character 不 — “not”: how to write it and what it means
not, no
The Chinese character 不 is read bù and means “not, no”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.
Stroke order: how to write 不
不 has 4 strokes. At each step the new stroke is highlighted — write them in the same order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical, a frame before what is inside it, and the bottom stroke of the frame last.
To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for 不, with strokes to trace and empty squares.
What 不 is made of
Before a fourth tone it is read bú: 不是 bú shì.
The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.
Words with 不
- 不要don'tHSK 1
- 不客气you're welcomeHSK 1
- 对不起sorryHSK 1
- 不错not bad, goodHSK 2
- 不好意思embarrassed; excuse meHSK 2
- 不见go missing; not see each otherHSK 3
- 不久soon; not longHSK 3
- 不用no needHSK 3
- 不行not allowed; no goodHSK 3
- 不但not onlyHSK 3
- 不同different, differHSK 3
- 差不多almost; about the sameHSK 3
- 不满dissatisfiedHSK 4
- 不便inconvenient; inconvenientlyHSK 4
- 不必no need toHSK 4
- 不如not as good as; might as wellHSK 4
Frequently asked questions
How do you write the character 不?
不 has 4 strokes. They follow the usual rules: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal before vertical, outside before inside. The order of each stroke is shown on this page.
What does 不 mean?
不 means “not, no”. It appears in 不要 (“don't”), 不客气 (“you're welcome”), 对不起 (“sorry”), 不错 (“not bad”).
How do you pronounce 不?
不 is read bù. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.
How many strokes does 不 have?
4 strokes.
More characters on the page “Chinese characters with meanings” and in the list of HSK characters by level; whole words are in the dictionary.
Write 不 yourself
In the lessons you write characters stroke by stroke with a finger or a mouse, and the course checks the order. You can start for free, no sign-up needed.
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