fǒudìng fùcí
Negative adverbs (否定副词)
Chinese has three main negative adverbs: 不 (bù) for habits, preferences, and present/future negation; 没/没有 (méi/méiyǒu) for completed actions and negating 有; and 别 (bié) for negative commands ('don't...'). Each one has a specific job — they are NOT interchangeable.
核心例句
别担心！他昨天没来上课，不是因为不想来——他没有手机，没办法通知老师。
Bié dānxīn! Tā zuótiān méi lái shàngkè, bú shì yīnwèi bù xiǎng lái — tā méiyǒu shǒujī, méi bànfǎ tōngzhī lǎoshī.
Don't worry! He didn't come to class yesterday — not because he didn't want to — he had no phone and couldn't notify the teacher.
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课程摘要
Chinese has three main negative adverbs: 不 (bù) for habits, preferences, and present/future negation; 没/没有 (méi/méiyǒu) for completed actions and negating 有; and 别 (bié) for negative commands ('don't...'). Each one has a specific job — they are NOT interchangeable.
Negative adverbs are among the most important and most confused grammar points in Chinese. Learners must master the difference between 不, 没/没有, and 别.
不 (bù — negates general truths, habits, preferences, present/future): • Negates adjective predicates: 今天不冷。(It's not cold today.) • Negates habitual or present/future actions: 我不吃肉。(I don't eat meat.) / 他明天不来。(He won't come tomorrow.) • Negates modal verbs: 我不想去。(I don't want to go.) • Negates 是: 她不是老师。(She is not a teacher.)
没/没有 (méi/méiyǒu — negates completed actions and 有): • Negates 有: 我没有钱。→ Can also say 我没钱。(I don't have money.) • Negates COMPLETED or PAST actions: 他昨天没来。(He didn't come yesterday.) — the action was expected but did not happen. • IMPORTANT: 有 MUST use 没有, never 不有: 我不有钱。
别 (bié — negative imperative: 'don't do this'): • Used to give a polite negative instruction or warning: 别担心。(Don't worry.) / 别在这里抽烟。(Don't smoke here.) • Cannot be used to describe a state or negate adjectives: 别冷。 • Softer than 不要 in some contexts, though 不要 is also common.
The 不 vs 没 distinction is the most common source of error: — 我不吃饭。= I don't eat rice (habit/preference/general truth) — 我没吃饭。= I haven't eaten rice (today, this specific time — a completed event that didn't happen)
Special rule: Tone change of 不: — 不 is usually 4th tone (bù), but it becomes 2nd tone (bú) before another 4th-tone syllable: 不是 (bú shì), 不去 (bú qù).
语法句型
不/没/没有/别 + negated element
不 negates habits, present/future, adjectives, and 是; 没/没有 negates 有 and completed actions; 别 gives negative commands.
我今天不想去医院。
Wǒ jīntiān bù xiǎng qù yīyuàn.
I don't want to go to the hospital today.
他昨天没来上课。
Tā zuótiān méi lái shàngkè.
He didn't come to class yesterday.
别在教室里吃东西。
Bié zài jiàoshì lǐ chī dōngxi.
Don't eat in the classroom.
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