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
- 不书爵(不書爵) his rank was not recorded
- 不近人情 not amenable to reason; unreasonable
- 不及 not as good as; inferior to ; not enough time ; insufficient
- 无风不起浪(無風不起浪) without wind there cannot be waves; there must be a reason; no smoke without fire
- 求之不得 to seek something but not obtain it
- 神不守舍 absent-minded; distracted ; abstracted; drifting off; restless
- 不懈 untiring; unremitting; indefatigable
- 威武不屈 not to submit to force
- 目不斜视(目不斜視) not to glance sideways; to gaze fixedly; to be fully concentrated; to preserve a correct attitude
- 派不是 to criticize; to find fault with
- 半明不灭(半明不滅) dull (lamplight)
- 有眼不识泰山(有眼不識泰山) to have eyes but fail to recognize Mt Tai; to fail to recognize somebody important or somebody's great talent
- 后悔不迭(後悔不迭) too late for regrets
- 不打紧(不打緊) unimportant; not serious; it doesn't matter; never mind
- 逡巡不前 to hesitate to move forward; to balk; to jib
- 喜不自胜(喜不自勝) unable to contain one's joy
- 赶不上(趕不上) can't keep up with; can't catch up with; cannot overtake
- 不定元 indeterminate element
- 巴不能够(巴不能夠) avid; eager for; longing for; to look forward to
- 出其不意,攻其不备(出其不意,攻其不備) to catch an enemy off guard with a surprise attack (idiom, from Sunzi's The Art of War 孫子兵法|孙子兵法)
- 不久前 not long ago
- 吃人不吐骨头(吃人不吐骨頭) ruthless; vicious and greedy
- 不是一家人不进一家门(不是一家人不進一家門) people who don't belong together, don't get to live together; marriages are predestined; people marry because they share common traits
- 鍥而不舍(鍥而不捨) to carve away at something and not abandon it; to keep on working away at something ; to chip away at something and not abandon it
- 光说不练(光說不練) all talk and no action; to preach what one does not practice
- 防不胜防(防不勝防) you can't guard against it; impossible to defend effectively; not much one can do about it
- 不要脸(不要臉) to have no sense of shame; shameless
- 不怕 fearless; not worried (by setbacks or difficulties); even if; even though
- 着三不着两(著三不著兩) scatter-brained; thoughtless
- 不厌(不厭) not to tire of; not to object to ; not be full ; not be satisfied
- 勿谓言之不预(勿謂言之不預) don't say you haven't been forewarned (threat used by the PRC in international diplomacy)
- 寿命不长(壽命不長) one's days are numbered; not to have long to live (often )
- 查不出来(查不出來) unable to find
- 周转不开(周轉不開) to have financial difficulties; unable to make ends meet
- 不耐受 intolerance (for lactose, gluten or other foods)
- 不归(不歸) to not return ; to not realign one's allegiance; to not submit ; to borrow but not give back
- 食不终味(食不終味) unable to appreciating the taste
- 不送气(不送氣) unaspirated
- 虎毒不食子 a tiger, though cruel, will not devour its cubs; even wild beasts look after their young
- 不必 need not
- 以备不测(以備不測) to be prepared for accidents
- 无所不为(無所不為) not stopping at anything; all manner of evil
- 爱不释手(愛不釋手) love something too much to part with it
- 高处不胜寒(高處不勝寒) it's lonely at the top
- 经不住(經不住) to be unable to bear
- 不比 unlike
- 欲速而不达(欲速而不達) to want something in haste, but cannot get there; more haste, less speed
Also contained in
八风吹不动 、 异品一分转同品遍转不定 、 不坐卧高广大牀 、 不离过
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: 374
- Daode Jing 《道德經》 Daode Jing 道德經 — count: 310
- 襄公 Lord Xiang The Commentary of Zuo on the Spring and Autumn Annals 春秋左氏傳 — count: 294
- Full Text Canon of Supreme Mystery 太玄經 — count: 240
- 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: 166
- 《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: 145
- 卷十 魏書十一 袁張涼國田王邴管傳 Volume 10: Book of Wei 10 - Biographies of Xun Yu, Xun You, and Jia Xu Records of the Three Kingdoms 三國志 — count: 138
- 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