Negation of "you" with "mei"

The verb 有 (yǒu) is negated differently from ordinary verbs.

Structure

Nearly all verbs can be negated with 不. The verb 有 (yǒu) is an exception, and must be negated with 没 (méi).

Subject + 没 + 有 + Object

Examples

• 我 没 有 手机。I don't have a mobile phone.
• 他 没 有 多少 钱。He doesn't have any money.
• 我们 没 有 自己的 房子。We don't have our own house.

Remember that trying to negate 有 with 不 is a classic mistake that many people make in the early stages of studying Chinese:

• 我 不 有 汽车。
• 我 没 有 汽车。

Never use 不 with 有.

See also

• Standard negation with bu
• Inability with "mei banfa"

Sources and further reading

Books

• Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition (pp. 51) →buy
• 现代汉语八百词（增订本） (pp. 382) →buy