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How To Say No In Chinese?

Post by Swing on February 5, 2023, Category: Chinese Learning 
how-to-say-no-in-Chinese

One of the most common ways to say no in Chinese is 不.

The basic information of no in Chinese

No in Chinese: 不
No in pinyin: [bú] [bù]
Tone: Second/Fourth
Stroke Count: 4
Structure: Up to down
Usage: ★★★★★

The glyph evolution of no in Chinese 不 [bú][bù]

how-to-write-no-in-Chinese
how-to-write-no-in-Chinese

The glyph contrast of no in Chinese 不 [bú][bù]

different-ways-of-saying-no
different-ways-of-saying-no

The order of strokes of no in Chinese 不 [bú][bù]

chinese-symbol-for-no
chinese-symbol-for-no

Calligraphy of no in Chinese 不 [bú][bù]

how-to-spell-no-in-chinese
how-to-spell-no-in-chinese

Other variations to say no in Chinese

  1. 不是 [bú shì] means “to not be”. One of the most used words to say yes in Chinese is 是 [shì], “to be”. Therefore, adding 不, which means “not; no”, in front of是 [shì] is one way to say “no” in Chinese.

Tips: When the word behind 不 is the first/second/third tone, 不 is read [bù], for example:不行 [bù xíng] , and when the word behind 不 is the fourth tone, 不 is read [bú], for example:不是[bú shì].

how-do-you-say-no-in-Chinese
how-do-you-say-no-in-Chinese
SpeakerCharacterPinyinEnglish
A:你是美国人吗?nǐ shì měi guó rén ma?Are you an American?
B:不是。bú shì。No.
  1. 不对 [bú duì] means “incorrect” or [cuò] means “false, wrong”
no-in-chinese
no-in-chinese
SpeakerCharacterPinyinEnglish
A:二加二等于三。èr jiā èr děng yú sān。Two and two is three.
B:不对/错。bú duì/ cuò。No.
  1. 没有 [méi yǒu] means “ not have, no, none”
mandarin-word-for-no
mandarin-word-for-no
SpeakerCharacterPinyinEnglish
A:你去过中国吗?nǐ qù guò zhōng guò ma?Have you been to China?
B:没有。méi yǒu。No.
  1. 不会 [bú huì] means “will not, cannot”
no-in-mandarin-pinyin
no-in-mandarin-pinyin
SpeakerCharacterPinyinEnglish
A:你会游泳么?nǐ huì yóu yǒng me?Can you swim?
B:不会。bú huì。No.
  1. 不可以 [bù kě yǐ] or 不能 [bù néng] or 不行 [bù xíng], means “cannot, may not”, usually used to deny a request or refuse to give permission.
no-in-mandarin
no-in-mandarin
SpeakerCharacterPinyinEnglish
A:我可以在这里抽烟么?wǒ kě yǐ zài zhè lǐ chōu yān me?Can I smoke here?
B:不可以/不能/不行。bù kě yǐ/ bù néng/bù xíng。No, you can’t.
  1. 不可能 [bù kě néng] – impossible
say-no-in-chinese
say-no-in-chinese
SpeakerCharacterPinyinEnglish
A:你可以一整天不喝水么?nǐ kě yǐ yī zhěng tiān bù hē shuǐ me?Can you not drink within a day?
B:不可能。bù kě néng。No.
  1. 没门儿 [méi mén er] – no way, slang for impossible
what-is-no-in-chinese
SpeakerCharacterPinyinEnglish
A:我可以借更多的钱吗?wǒ kě yǐ jiè gèng duō de qián ma?Can I borrow some more money?
B:没门儿。méi mén er。No.

No in Chinese in some other situations

Some other common ways to say “no” in Chinese is not a specific word at all. They just express disagreement by adding不 [bù] in front of the main verb/ adj. in the question asked, or use the 没[méi] + verb structure to respond negatively to questions.
For example:

  1. 不喜欢 [bù xǐ huān] - “No (I don’t like).”
SpeakerCharacterPinyinEnglish
A:你喜欢小动物吗?nǐ xǐ huān xiǎo dòng wù ma?Do you like little animals?
B:不喜欢。bù xǐ huān。No, I don’t like.
  1. 不要 [bú yào] - “No (I don’t want).”
SpeakerCharacterPinyinEnglish
A:你想要一个苹果么?nǐ xiǎng yào yī gè píng guǒ me?Do you want an apple?
B:不要。bú yào。No, I don’t want.
  1. 不远 [bù yuǎn] - not far
SpeakerCharacterPinyinEnglish
A:你家离学校远吗?nǐ jiā lí xué xiào yuǎn ma?Is your home far away from the school?
B:不远。bù yuǎn。No, not far.
  1. 不好 [bù hǎo], directly translated as “not good” or “not all right.”
    When someone is seeking approval, using 好不好 [hǎo bù hǎo] or 好吗 [hǎo ma] to ask if something is okay, you can reject it by saying 不好 [bù hǎo].
SpeakerCharacterPinyinEnglish
A:把你所有的钱给我,好不好?bǎ nǐ suǒ yǒu de qián gěi wǒ,hǎo bù hǎo?Give me all of your money, OK?
B:不好。bù hǎo。No.
  1. 没吃过 [méi chī guò] - not eat
SpeakerCharacterPinyinEnglish
A:你吃过中国菜吗?nǐ chī guò zhōng guó cài ma?Have you ever eaten Chinese food?
B:没吃过。méi chī guò。No, I haven’t.
  1. 没看过 [méi kàn guò] - not see
SpeakerCharacterPinyinEnglish
A:你看过这部电影吗?nǐ kàn guò zhè bù diàn yǐng ma?Have you ever seen this movie?
B:没看过。méi kàn guò。No, I haven’t.

To Disallow and Prohibit - No in Chinese

  1. 禁止 [jìn zhǐ] to prohibit/forbid
how-to-say-no-in-mandarin
how-to-say-no-in-mandarin

禁止入内
jìn zhǐ rù nèi
No entrance/entry.

  1. 不准 [bù zhǔn] not to allow
how-many-ways-to-say-no
how-many-ways-to-say-no

不准停车
bù zhǔn tíng chē
No parking!

Other phrases or sentences to express no in Chinese

  1. 我想想吧 [wǒ xiǎng xiǎng ba] -An indirect way of saying no in Chinese, meaning “let me think about it.” It’s a polite way of rejecting someone’s request.
no-in-chinese-mandarin
no-in-chinese-mandarin
  1. 我不太清楚 [wǒ bú tài qīng chǔ]- I’m not sure.
SpeakerCharacterPinyinEnglish
A:你知道去超市的路么?nǐ zhī dào qù chāo shì de lù me?Do you know the way to the supermarket?
B:我不太清楚。wǒ bú tài qīng chǔ。No, I’m not sure.
  1. If you want to express "I don't have time today.", you can say 我今天有点事 [wŏ jīn tiān yŏu diăn shì] or 我今天没有空 [wŏ jīn tiān méi yŏu kòng] or 改天吧 [găi tiān ba] or 我们下一次再去吧 [wǒ men xià yī cì zài qù ba]
no-in-chinese-characters
no-in-chinese-characters
SpeakerCharacterPinyinEnglish
A:你今天有空么?我们去逛街吧!nǐ jīn tiān yǒu kōng me?wǒ men qù guàng jiē ba!Are you free today? Let’s go shopping.
B:我今天有点事/我们下一次再去吧!wŏ jīn tiān yŏu diăn shì/ wǒ men xià yī cì zài qù ba!No, I’m afraid not. Let’s go next time.
  1. 不太好吧 [ bú tài hǎo ba] or 不太方便吧 [bú tài fāng biàn ba] or 那哪儿行啊 [nà nǎ ér xíng a] - - polite ways to refuse.
how-do-u-say-no-in-chinese
how-do-u-say-no-in-chinese

How to say no in ancient Chinese

  1. [wèi]
    未必 [wèi bì]-may not
    未曾 [wèi céng]-did not
  2. [wú]
    无色无味 [wú sè wú wèi]-have no color and have no taste
  3. [wù]
    勿念 [wù niàn]-not miss
  4. [wú]
    宁缺毋滥 [níng quē wú làn]-put quality before quantity
  5. [fēi]
    是非 [shì fēi]-right and wrong

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