不

bù

HSK 1

#4 most

frequent character

(negative prefix), not, no

adverb

Character breakdown

不 is a picture of a flower's root and stem, which was its first meaning. The everyday meaning 'not' was borrowed for its sound alone, not because of the drawing.

Drawn as: flower root and stem; calyx

不 as a component in other characters

meaning3 characters

否歪甭

sound9 characters

还否环怀坏杯钚罘盃

picture1 character

孬

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Example Sentences

我不想去。

wǒbù xiǎngqù 。

I don't want to go.

他不是学生。

tā búshì xuéshēng 。

He is not a student.

这不是我的书。

zhè búshì wǒde shū 。

This is not my book.

Grammar Points

HSK 1

Expressing "not very" with "bu tai"

HSK 1

Standard negation with "bu"

HSK 1

Comparing "bu" and "mei"

HSK 2

Tag questions with "bu"

Homophones

部bù

unit, ministry, department, part

步bù

step, stage, walk, foot

怖bù

terror, terrified, afraid, frightened

Words Starting With 不

不客气bù kè qi

you're welcome; impolite; rude; blunt; don't mention it

不仅bù jǐn

not only (this one); not just (...) but also

不但bù dàn

not only (... but also...)

不得不bù dé bù

have no choice or option but to; cannot but; have to; can't help it; can't avoid

不管bù guǎn

"no matter (what, how); regardless of; no matter"

Your word lists

Public Lists with 不

Pronouns & Personal References

I, you, he, she, they, self-referential terms, and polite forms of address.

HSK 1

All words for the HSK 1 test