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

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* 为什么 你 <em>不</em> <strong>喜欢 喝</strong> 咖啡?<span class="pinyin">Wèishéme nǐ <em>bù</em> <strong>xǐhuan hē </strong> kāfēi?</span><span class="trans">Why don't you like to drink coffee?</span>
 
* 为什么 你 <em>不</em> <strong>喜欢 喝</strong> 咖啡?<span class="pinyin">Wèishéme nǐ <em>bù</em> <strong>xǐhuan hē </strong> kāfēi?</span><span class="trans">Why don't you like to drink coffee?</span>
 
* 很多 年轻 人 都 <em>不</em> 喜欢 <strong>运动</strong>。<span class="pinyin">Hěnduō niánqīng rén dōu <em>bù</em> xǐhuan <strong>yùndòng </strong>.</span><span class="trans">Many young people don't like exercising.</span>
 
* 很多 年轻 人 都 <em>不</em> 喜欢 <strong>运动</strong>。<span class="pinyin">Hěnduō niánqīng rén dōu <em>bù</em> xǐhuan <strong>yùndòng </strong>.</span><span class="trans">Many young people don't like exercising.</span>
* 我 和 我 的 朋友 都 <em>不</em> <strong>喜欢</strong> 这 个 派对。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ hé wǒ de péngyou dōu <em>bù</em> <strong>xǐhuan </strong> zhè ge pàiduì.</span><span class="trans">Neither my friend nor I like this party.</span>
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* 的 朋友 都 <em>不</em> <strong>想 去</strong> 这 个 派对 吗?<span class="pinyin">de péngyou dōu <em>bù</em> <strong>xiǎng qù</strong> zhè ge pàiduì ma?</span><span class="trans">None of your friends want to go to this party?</span>
  
 
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Revision as of 02:07, 21 September 2015

不 (bù) is generally used to negate an action that you do not want to do or do not intend to do (in the future). So expressing things like "I don't want to go" or "I'm not going" would be uses of 不 (bù).

Negating Verbs

Structure

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

Subj. + 不 + Verb + Obj.

Examples

  • 德国人。 shì Déguó rén.I am not German.
  • 喜欢 我 吗? xǐhuan wǒ ma?Do you not like me?
  • 我们 都 酒。Wǒmen dōu jiǔ.We all don't drink alcohol.
  • 他们 坏 孩子。Tāmen shì huài háizi.They are not bad kids.
  • 我 今天 想 工作Wǒ jīntiān xiǎng gōngzuò .I don't want to work today.
  • 今天 你 去 上课 吗?Jīntiān nǐ qù shàngkè ma?Today you are not going to class?
  • 太 贵 了,我 Tài guì le, wǒ mǎi .Too expensive! I'm not buying it.
  • 为什么 你 喜欢 喝 咖啡?Wèishéme nǐ xǐhuan hē kāfēi?Why don't you like to drink coffee?
  • 很多 年轻 人 都 喜欢 运动Hěnduō niánqīng rén dōu xǐhuan yùndòng .Many young people don't like exercising.
  • 你 的 朋友 都 想 去 这 个 派对 吗?Nǐ de péngyou dōu xiǎng qù zhè ge pàiduì ma?None of your friends want to go to this party?

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).

  • 不有 时间。bù yǒu shíjiān.
  • 没有 时间。méiyǒu shíjiān.I don't have time.

Negating Adjectives

Turns out that the structure is basically the same.

Structure

Subject + 不 + Adjective

Examples

  • 饿 è .I'm not hungry.
  • .He is not hot.
  • 这 个 Zhè ge guì .This is not expensive.
  • 我们 学校 Wǒmen xuéxiào .Our school is not big.
  • 这里 的 咖啡 好喝Zhèlǐ de kāfēi hǎo hē .The coffee here is not good.
  • 我 觉得 那 个 女 孩子 漂亮Wǒ juédé nàge nǚ háizi piàoliang .I think that girl is not pretty.
  • 我 哥哥 ,但是 很 帅。Wǒ gēgē gāo , dànshì hěn shuài.My older brother is not tall, but he is very handsome.
  • 我 很 高兴Wǒ hěn gāoxìng .I am not happy.
  • 这 个 人 Zhè ge rén hǎo .This person is not good.
  • 吃 这 种 东西 健康Chī zhè zhǒng dōngxī jiànkāng .Eating this stuff is not healthy.

See also

Sources and Further Reading

Books

Videos