Negative commands with "bie"

This is one of the few times that Chinese seems to have a "contraction", like when "do not" is contracted to "don't".

Structure

As well as 不要, negative commands can also be formed with 别. You could think of 别 as a contraction of 不要, as the structure is the same for both:

别 + Verb + Object

Examples

• 别 说话！Don't speak!
• 别 生气 了！Don't get mad!
• 别 嘲笑 我！Don't make fun of me!
• 别 喝 太 多 酒。Don't drink too much alcohol.
• 喝 酒 以后 别 开车。After drinking alcohol, don't drive.
• 你 别 忘 了 我。Don't forget me.
• 吃饭 的 时候 别 看 电视。When eating, don't watch TV.
• 11 点 了，你 别 出去 了。(It's) 11PM, Don't go out.
• 别 哭 了，你 哭 的 时候 不 好看。Don't cry, when you cry it's hard to watch.
• 别 跟 我 说 英文。Don't speak English with me.

See also

• Negative commands with "bu yao"

Sources and Further Reading

Videos

• Yoyo Chinese: Negative commands

Books

• Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (pp. 155) →buy