How to say “not” in Chinese
not
“Not” in Chinese is 不, bù: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
不 is read bù. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
Before a fourth tone it is read bú: 不是 bú shì.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “不”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 不. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 我不是中国人wǒbúshìZhōngguórénI’m not from China.
- 对不起！duìbuqǐSorry!
- 我不太忙wǒbútàimángI'm not very busy.
- 明天我不忙míngtiānwǒbùmángTomorrow I'm not busy.
- 今天我很忙明天不忙jīntiānwǒhěnmáng,míngtiānbùmángToday I'm busy, tomorrow I'm not.
- 你去不去？nǐqùbuqùAre you going?
More characters by topic — happiness, luck, strength, nature — on the page “Chinese characters with meanings”.
More words from the lesson “Where are you from?”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “not” in Chinese?
“Not” in Chinese is 不, pinyin bù.
What does 不 mean?
不 (bù) means “not”.
How do you write 不?
不 is 1 character. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 不?
不 is read bù. Tones: bù — fourth tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“not” in the lesson “Where are you from?”
This word is from the topic “Meeting people” of HSK 1. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
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