How to say “never” in Chinese
never (in the past)
“Never” in Chinese is 不曾, bù céng: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke.
How to pronounce it
不曾 is read bù céng: 2 syllables. 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.
As a surname it's read zēng. It hints at the sound of 增 zēng.
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 “不曾”.
More words from the lesson “Never and not necessarily”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “never” in Chinese?
“Never” in Chinese is 不曾, pinyin bùcéng.
What does 不曾 mean?
不曾 (bùcéng) means “never (in the past)”.
How do you write 不曾?
不曾 is 2 characters: 不 (bù) — not, no; 曾 (céng) — once, formerly. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 不曾?
不曾 is read bùcéng. Tones: bù — fourth tone, céng — second tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“never” in the lesson “Never and not necessarily”
This word is from the topic “Adverbs: exactly how” of HSK 6. 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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