How to say “not allowed” in Chinese
not allowed; no good
“Not allowed” in Chinese is 不行, bù xíng: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
不行 is read bù xíng: 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.
Two readings: xíng in 自行车, and háng, “row, office”, in 银行.
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 “不行”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 不行. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 在经理看来这个办法不行zàijīnglǐkànlái,zhègebànfǎbùxíngIn the manager's view, this approach won't work.
- 北方的冬天很冷，没有羽绒服不行。běifāngdedōngtiānhěnlěng,méiyǒuyǔróngfúbùxíngWinters in the north are very cold; you can't do without a down jacket.
- 先检查电源，再重新启动；如果还不行，就联系客服。xiānjiǎnchádiànyuán,zàichóngxīnqǐdòng,rúguǒháibùxíng,jiùliánxìkèfúFirst check the power, then restart; if that doesn't help, contact customer support.
More words from the lesson “Plans and decisions”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “not allowed” in Chinese?
“Not allowed” in Chinese is 不行, pinyin bùxíng.
What does 不行 mean?
不行 (bùxíng) means “not allowed; no good”.
How do you write 不行?
不行 is 2 characters: 不 (bù) — not, no; 行 (xíng) — go; be OK. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 不行?
不行 is read bùxíng. Tones: bù — fourth tone, xíng — second tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“not allowed” in the lesson “Plans and decisions”
This word is from the topic “Work and business” of HSK 3. 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.
Start for free