The character 没 — “not”: how to write it and what it means
not, no
The Chinese character 没 is read méi 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 没
没 has 7 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 没, with strokes to trace and empty squares.
What 没 is made of
On the left, 氵 “water”.
The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.
Words with 没
- 没事no problem; it's fineHSK 1
- 没有not have, there isn'tHSK 1
- 没关系it's okayHSK 1
- 没意思boringHSK 2
- 没法儿no way to, unableHSK 5
- 淹没submerge; drown out (sound)HSK 6
Frequently asked questions
How do you write the character 没?
没 has 7 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 没 mean?
没 means “not, no”. It appears in 没事 (“no problem”), 没有 (“not have”), 没关系 (“it's okay”), 没意思 (“boring”).
How do you pronounce 没?
没 is read méi. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.
How many strokes does 没 have?
7 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 没 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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