Difference between revisions of "Standard negation with "bu""

Revision as of 09:39, 12 October 2014

Use 不 (bù) to negate verbs in the present or future.

The standard way to negate verbs in Chinese is with 不 (bù). To negate a verb, simply place 不 (bù) before it:

Subject + 不 + Verb + Object

我不是德国人。Wǒ bù shì Déguó rén.I am not German.
他不喜欢你。Tā bù xǐhuān nǐ.He does not like you.
她不喝酒。Tā bù hē jiǔ.She doesn't drink beer.
我不是好学生。Wǒ bù shì hào xuéshēng.I am not a good student.
我不 想工作。Wǒ bù xiǎng gōngzuò .I don't want to work.
很多年轻人不运动。Hěnduō niánqīng rén bù yùndòng .Many young people don't exercise.
今天我不 去上课。Jīntiān wǒ bù qù shàngkè .Today I am not going to class.
我不喜欢这个派对。Wǒ bù xǐhuān zhè gè pàiduì.I don't like this party.
这么贵，我不买。Zhème guì, wǒ bù mǎi .How expensive! I'm not buying it.
为什么你不 喜欢喝 咖啡？Wèishéme nǐ bù xǐhuān hē kāfēi?Why don't you like to drink coffee?

Almost all verbs can be negated with 不 (bù) (unless you're talking about the past). The only verb that can never be negated with 不 (bù) is 有 (yǒu).

Surprise! The structure is basically the same.

Subject + 不 + Adjective

@@ Line 35: / Line 35: @@
 <div class="liju">
 <ul>
-<li class="x">我 <em>不有</em> 时间。</li>
+<li class="x">我 <em>不有</em> 时间。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>bù yǒu </em> shíjiān.</span></li>
-<li class="o">我 <em>没有</em> 时间。<span class="trans">I don't have time.</span>
+<li class="o">我 <em>没有</em> 时间。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>méiyǒu </em> shíjiān.</span><span class="trans">I don't have time.</span>
 </ul>
 </div>