1 · The basic sentence
Negation with bù and méi
saying not: two words for two kinds of no
Bù negates what you do, want or are; méi negates what did not happen, and the verb yǒu.
Chinese has two words for “not”. 不 is used for the present and the future, for habits and wishes, and with adjectives, 是 and modal verbs: 我不喝酒, “I don’t drink alcohol”; 我明天不去, “I’m not going tomorrow”; 我不想去, “I don’t want to go”.
没, or 没有, says that something did not happen: 我昨天没去, “I didn’t go yesterday”. It is also the only negative of 有, whatever the time. After 没 the verb stands bare, without 了: 我没吃早饭.
The difference is often between a choice and an event. 我不吃肉 is “I don’t eat meat” — a habit, or a refusal. 我没吃肉 is “I didn’t eat the meat” or “I haven’t eaten any meat” — it simply did not happen. About a past event, 不 appears only when it means “would not”, a refusal; with states and habits it is the normal negative, as the exception below shows.
Both stand directly before the verb, or before a place phrase: 我不在家吃. English speakers mostly go wrong with the past: English “didn’t” looks like the English “don’t”, so they reach for 不, when an event that did not happen needs 没. Remember too that 不 becomes bú before a fourth tone.
The form
| bù: a habit or a choice | 我不喝咖啡。 |
| bù: the future | 我明天不去。 |
| bù: adjectives and shì | 我不累。他不是老师。 |
| méi: it did not happen | 我昨天没去。 |
| méi: not to have | 我没有时间。 |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
Bù says what you do not do, will not do or do not want.
我不吃辣的。I don't eat spicy food.
Méi says that something did not happen.
我昨天没上班。I didn't go to work yesterday.
Yǒu is always negated with méi.
我没有护照。I haven't got a passport.
Adjectives, shì and modal verbs take bù.
这儿的菜不贵。The food here isn't expensive.
After méi the verb takes no le.
我没看那个电影。I didn't see that film.
A closer look
One verb, two negatives
Most verbs can take either word, and the choice changes the message. 他不来 is “he isn’t coming” or “he won’t come”; 他没来 is “he didn’t come” or “he hasn’t come”. Asked 你去吗？, you answer 不去; asked whether you went, you answer 没去.
About the past, 不 describes a habit or an attitude rather than an event: 小时候我不喜欢吃青菜, “as a child I didn’t like vegetables”. Nothing failed to happen there; it was simply how things were.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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the verb describes a state, such as 是, 在 (to be at), 知道 or 喜欢
it usually takes 不, even about the past.
昨天我不在家。I wasn't at home yesterday.
A state did not “fail to happen”; it simply was not so, and that is what 不 says.
How to spot it
- 不
- 没
- 没有
- 昨天
Example sentences
我爸爸不抽烟。My father doesn't smoke.
她今天没来上课。She didn't come to class today.
我明天不能来。I can't come tomorrow.
我今天早上没吃早饭。I didn't have breakfast this morning.
我不知道他的电话号码。I don't know his phone number.
昨天我没给你打电话，对不起。Sorry I didn't ring you yesterday.
7 more example sentences
他不会开车。He can't drive.
我们上个星期没见面。We didn't see each other last week.
我不喜欢下雨天。I don't like rainy days.
他昨天晚上没睡觉。He didn't sleep last night.
我现在不饿。I'm not hungry now.
她没有告诉我。She didn't tell me.
周末我不工作。I don't work at weekends.
Worth knowing (1)
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Short answers
A short answer repeats the verb with its negative: 不去。 or 没去。 A bare 不 on its own is used mainly to decline something offered.
不，谢谢，我不喝酒。No, thank you — I don't drink alcohol.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English “didn’t” and “don’t” are built the same way, so 不 seems right for both. But a past event that did not happen takes 没. With 不 the sentence sounds as if you refused to go, or as if “yesterday” were still to come.
Bù for what you do not do or want, méi for what did not happen — and always méi with yǒu.
Your turn
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