How to say “never” in Chinese
never (with 不 / 没); always
“Never” in Chinese is 从来, cóng lái: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
从来 is read cóng lái: 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
Two people 人 walking one behind the other.
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 “从来”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 从来. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 我从来不吸烟。wǒcóngláibùxīyānI never smoke.
- 我从来没吸过2烟wǒcóngláiméixīguoyānI've never smoked in my life.
- 我爸爸从来不去体检wǒbàbacóngláibúqùtǐjiǎnMy dad never goes for checkups.
- 我从来没中2过2奖wǒcóngláiméizhòngguojiǎngI've never won anything.
More words from the lesson “Bad habits”
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 从来, pinyin cónglái.
What does 从来 mean?
从来 (cónglái) means “never (with 不 / 没); always”.
How do you write 从来?
从来 is 2 characters: 从 (cóng) — from; follow; 来 (lái) — come. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 从来?
从来 is read cónglái. Tones: cóng — second tone, lái — second tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“never” in the lesson “Bad habits”
This word is from the topic “Health and habits” of HSK 4. 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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