Standard negation with "bu"

Revision as of 09:44, 22 July 2013 by Simingjie (talk | contribs)

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

Negating Verbs

Structure

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

Subject + 不 + Verb + Object

Examples

  • 是 德国人。I am not a German.
  • 喜欢 你。He does not like you.
  • 喝酒。She doesn't drink beer.

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

Negating Adjectives

Surprise! The structure is basically the same.

Structure

Subject + 不 + Adjective

Examples

  • 饿I'm not hungry.
  • He is not hot.
  • 这 个 This is not enough.

See also

Sources and Further Reading

Books

Videos