不 bù
-
bù
adverb
not; no
Domain: Modern Chinese 现代汉语 , Subdomain: Function Words , Concept: Negation 否定
Notes: 不 is used for simple negation, as opposed to 没, which is used for existence. 不 is used before adjectives, adverbs, and verbs, except 有 (Li Shaoqi, 2003, p. 26; Ho 2002, '不'; NCCED '不' 1). For example, 不知道是怎回事 '[He] did not he did not know how that was possible.' (Lao She, 2003, p. 207) This use is similar in both modern and literary Chinese (Pulleyblank 1995, p. 103). For example, in literary Chinese, 不可,直不百步耳,是亦走也。'They should not do so. Though they did not run a hundred paces, yet they also ran away.' (Meng 1.3/1/26, translation by Legge) The tone is changed to bú when 不 is followed by a syllable with fourth tone, in accordance with tone sandhi 变调. For example, 不去 bú qù 'will not go' (Sun 2006, loc. 545). 不 is the sixth most frequently used word in the Beijing Language Institute's 1985 frequency wordlist (Ho 2002, '不'). -
bù
adverb
expresses that a certain condition cannot be acheived
Domain: Modern Chinese 现代汉语 , Subdomain: Function Words , Concept: Negation 否定
Notes: In this pattern 不 is used after a verb to form a complement (Li Shaoqi, 2003, p. 27; NCCED '不' 7) For example, 洗不掉 'could not be washed away.' (Lao She, 2003, p. 211). -
bù
adverb
as a correlative
Domain: Modern Chinese 现代汉语 , Subdomain: Spoken Language
Notes: Used to form as a correlative with 就 in the pattern 不 ... 就 (NCCED '不' 9)... -
bù
adverb
no (answering a question)
Domain: Modern Chinese 现代汉语 , Subdomain: Function Words
Notes: 不 can be used independently to answer a preceding question (Li Shaoqi, 2003, p. 26; NCCED '不' 5). -
bù
adverb
forms a negative adjective from a noun
Domain: Modern Chinese 现代汉语 , Subdomain: Function Words , Concept: Negation 否定
Notes: For example, 不运气 'unlucky' (NCCED '不' 4) -
bù
adverb
at the end of a sentence to form a question
Domain: Modern Chinese 现代汉语 , Subdomain: Spoken Language
Notes: In this form 不 is used at the end of the sentence to turn it into a question (NCCED '不' 6). -
bù
adverb
to form a yes or no question
Domain: Modern Chinese 现代汉语 , Subdomain: Spoken Language
Notes: In this form 不 is used to offer an alternative as part of a question (NCCED '不' 8). For example, 商量商量好不好? 'Can we talk about it?' (Lao She, 2003, p. 216) -
bù
infix
infix potential marker
Domain: Modern Chinese 现代汉语 , Subdomain: Function Words , Concept: Negation 否定
Notes: 不 is one of the two infixes in Chinese, the other being 得 'can'. For example, 看不见 'cannot see' (Sun 2006, loc. 728).
Contained in
- 日夜不处(日夜不處) without halting day or night
- 不离儿(不離兒) not bad; pretty good; pretty close
- 不足为虑(不足為慮) to give no cause for anxiety; nothing to worry about
- 不禁 cannot help; cannot refrain from ; not only
- 不舍(不捨) reluctant to part with; unwilling to let go of
- 办不到(辦不到) impossible; can't be done; no can do; unable to accomplish
- 红军不怕远征难(紅軍不怕遠征難) of the trying long march the Red Army makes light
- 今不如昔 things are not as good as they used to be
- 不定形 indeterminate form
- 只字不提(隻字不提) not to mention; to say not one word; to omit mention (of a non-person or embarrassing topic)
- 前不久 not long ago; not long before
- 不好惹 not to be trifled with; not to be pushed around; stand no nonsense
- 水泄不通(水洩不通) not one drop can trickle through; impenetrable (crowd, traffic)
- 红不让(紅不讓) home run ; a big hit (hugely popular)
- 有罪不罚(有罪不罰) impunity
- 不管 regardless of; no matter ; to pay no attention to ; to ignore ; to not allow
- 不知好歹 to not know what is good for oneself; to not know good from evil
- 知者不失人 a wise person does not err in regard to men
- 目不识丁(目不識丁) the eye cannot recognize the letter T; totally illiterate
- 恨不得 wishing one could do something; to hate to be unable; itching to do something
- 不一致字(不一致字) inconsistent phonogram(s)
- 不同凡响(不同凡響) not a common chord; outstanding; brilliant; out of the common run
- 不安其室 to be discontent with one's home [after marriage]
- 不注意 thoughtless; not pay attention to
- 人算不如天算 God's plans supersede our own; Man proposes but God disposes
- 不可抗拒 act of God; force majeure (law); irresistible (idiom)
- 不动点(不動點) fixed point (of a map) (math.)
- 缠绵不已(纏綿不已) to cling without letting go; to pester without end; to cling lovingly to each other
- 必不可少组成(必不可少組成) absolute necessity; sine qua non
- 狼狈不堪(狼狽不堪) battered and exhausted; stuck in a dilemma
- 不法分子 lawbreakers; offenders
- 太阳永不落(太陽永不落) (on which) the sun never sets
- 不周山 Buzhou Mountain
- 往不反 they went but shall not return
- 实属不易(實屬不易) really not easy
- 不适(不適) unwell; indisposed; out of sorts
- 不灭(不滅) not being extinguished ; not being wiped out; surviving
- 非危不战(非危不戰) do not fight unless it is critical
- 冷不丁 suddenly; by surprise
- 缺一不可 not a single one is dispensable; can't do without either
- 自不待言 needless to say; it goes without saying
- 死猪不怕开水烫(死豬不怕開水燙) a dead pig doesn't fear scalding water; to be unaffected (by sth); undaunted
- 一口吃不成胖子 you cannot get fat with only one mouthful; learn to walk before you run
- 不得而知 unknown; unable to find out
- 强扭的瓜不甜(強扭的瓜不甜) if you have to use force to break a melon off the vine, it won't taste sweet (because it's only when the melon is ripe that it can be removed with just a slight twist)
- 深信不疑 to believe firmly without any doubt; absolute certainty about sth
- 一山不容二虎 the mountain can't have two tigers; this town ain't big enough for the two of us; (of two rivals) to be fiercely competitive
- 惊叹不已(驚嘆不已) to exclaim in astonishment
- 不用说(不用說) needless to say; it goes without saying
- 死因不明 unknown cause of death
Also contained in
Word is mentioned most frequently in
Truncated for common words
- 昭公 Lord Zhao The Commentary of Zuo on the Spring and Autumn Annals 春秋左氏傳 — count: 378
- Daode Jing 《道德經》 Daode Jing 道德經 — count: 313
- 襄公 Lord Xiang The Commentary of Zuo on the Spring and Autumn Annals 春秋左氏傳 — count: 297
- Full Text Canon of Supreme Mystery 太玄經 — count: 238
- 僖公 Lord Xi The Commentary of Zuo on the Spring and Autumn Annals 春秋左氏傳 — count: 170
- 卷九十四 列傳第六十四 隱逸 Volume 94 Biographies 64: Hermits and Recluses Book of Jin 晉書 — count: 167
- 《龜策列傳》 Biographies of Diviners Records of the Grand Historian 史記 — count: 156
- 卷六 魏書六 董二袁劉傳 Volume 6: Book of Wei 6 - Biographies of Dong, the two Yuans, and Liu Records of the Three Kingdoms 三國志 — count: 139
- 卷十一 魏書十一 袁張涼國田王邴管傳 Volume 11: Book of Wei 11 - Biographies of Yuan, Zhang, Liang, Guo, Tian, Wang, Bing, and Guan Records of the Three Kingdoms 三國志 — count: 138
- 卷九 主術訓 Chapter 9: The Sovereign's Methods Huainanzi 淮南子 — count: 122