Expressing "not at all" with "yidianr ye bu"

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Sometimes we may want to say something is "not even the least bit [adjective]." For example, we might say in English: "I am not at all hungry." In Chinese, we can use 一点也不 (yīdiǎnr yě bù) or 一点都不 (yīdiǎnr dōu bù) to express "not at all [adjective]."

一点也 / 都不 with an adjective

The phrases "一点也不" (or 一点儿也不) and "一点都不" (or 一点儿都不) can both be used to express "not at all."

Subj. + 一点也 / 都 + 不 + Adj.

Examples

  • 一点 也 不 性感。yīdiǎn yě bù xìnggǎn.You're not even a little bit sexy.
  • 他的朋友 一点 都 不 可爱。Tā de péngyou yīdiǎn dōu bù kě'ài.His friend is not cute at all.
  • 我的同事一点 都 不 幽默。Wǒ de tóngshì yīdiǎn dōu bù yōumò.My colleague is not humorous at all.

一点也 / 都不 with a verb

This describes the Subj. as being "not at all adjective" or "not even slightly adjective." Psychological verbs can also appear in place of the adjective in this structure.

Subj. + 一点也 / 都 + 不 + Verb

Examples

  • 一点 也 不 喜欢 啤酒。yīdiǎn yě bù xǐhuan píjiǔ.He doesn't like beer even a little bit.
  • 一点 也 不 会 说 吗?yīdiǎn yě bù huì shuō ma?You can't even speak a little?
  • 她 好像 一点 都 不 知道 这 件 事。Tā hǎoxiàng yīdiǎn dōu bù zhīdào zhè jiàn shì.She doesn't seem to know even a little about this.
  • 一点 也 不 习惯熬夜。yīdiǎn yě bù xíguàn áoyè.I’m not used to staying up late at all.

一点也 / 都不 with 没

The phrases "一点也没 " and "一点都没 " can also be used to express "not at all ." This is used when the statement uses or implies the verb negative form of 有 in the past.

Subj. + 一点都 / 也 + 没 + Verb

Examples

  • 一点 也 没 生气。yīdiǎn yě méi shēngqì.I didn't get even a little bit angry.
  • 宝宝 打针 的 时候 一点 都 没 哭。Bǎobao dǎzhēn de shíhou yīdiǎn dōu méi kū.The baby didn't even cry a little when it got the shot.
  • 今天 她 一点 也 没 吃东西。Jīntiān tā yīdiǎn yě méi chī dōngxī.She didn't even eat a little today.
  • 工作 虽然 很累,但 他 一点 都 没 抱怨。Gōngzuò suīrán hěn lèi, dàn tā yīdiǎn dōu méi bàoyuàn.Although the job was tiring, he didn't even complain a bit.

See also

Expressing "not even one"

Sources and further reading

Books

HSK4