Mandarin Go | Many ways to say "no" in Chinese

If you're new to Mandarin, chances are you'll want to learn a few basic Chinese words and phrases. The word "no" is one of the essential words... We give you 7 reasons!

1. Is not | bushi| no; is not; not be

One of the most common ways to say "yes" in Chinese is 是 (shì, to be). Therefore, it is not surprising that denying 是 (shì) by adding 不 (bù, not; no) is a way of saying "no" in Chinese.

When you say 不是 (bùshì), you literally say "not to be".

Usually, 不是 (bùshì) is used to disagree or dispute the truth of something someone else has said. If someone asks you a question with the intention of confirming a fact, you can answer with 不是 (bùshì) to indicate that what they said is not true.

2. 不 | bù | No

If you search for the Chinese equivalent of the English word "no" in a popular Chinese dictionary like Pleco, chances are the first entry you see is 不 (bù). Although native speakers will understand that you want to say "no" if you answer each question with a simple 不 (bù), it will not make you very authentic.

It is possible to answer some questions using only 不 (bù), but native speakers do not do this very often. Using only 不 (bù) to answer seems quite abrupt and even angry. People are more likely to respond with a simple 不 (bù) when they are very unhappy with the person they are talking to and would prefer not to talk to them at all.

3. | wrong budget | Incorrect; Not correct

In Chinese, 对 (duì) means "right" or "correct". Adding 不 (bù) in front of 对 (duì) allows you to say that something is "wrong" or "incorrect". In general, you can use 不对 (bùduì) when you disagree with someone's opinion or a statement they have made.

Note that since 对 (duì) is pronounced with a descending tone, the pronunciation of 不 (bù) changes to an ascending tone when placed in front of 对 (duì). So, even though the official pinyin is still written bùduì, you should pronounce it as "búduì".

4. bùxín | disagree; Not good

行 (xíng) means "OK" or "Very good" in Chinese. As with 不是 (bùshì) and 不对 (bùduì) above, adding 不 (bù) in front of 行 (xíng) turns it into a negative.

不行 (bùxíng) can be roughly translated as "disagree" or "disagree".

Unlike 对 (duì) and 不 (bù), which are pronounced with descending tones, 行 (xíng) is pronounced with an ascending tone. Therefore, the pronunciation of 不 (bù) does not change when the two are paired.

5. Can't | bù kěyǐ | Maybe not; cannot

不可以 (bù kěyǐ) is another expression that can be used to say "no" in Chinese. It consists of 可以 (kěyǐ), which can be translated as "may" or "may", and the negative character (bù).

Together, the expression 不可以 (bù kěyǐ) can be translated literally as "cannot" or "cannot". It is used in much the same way as the English "may not" or "can't" when you answer a request or question in the negative.

6. Impossible| bù kěnéng | No way

Want a stronger negative response? Look no further than 不可能 (bù kěnéng). This sentence consists of the negative character 不 (bù), followed by 可能 (kěnéng), which in Chinese means "maybe" or "maybe". Add them together and you get 不可能 (bù kěnéng), which means "not possible", "impossible" or "not possible".

Use 不可能 (bù kěnéng) when you want to let someone know that everything they said is totally out of the question or totally impossible.

7. 没有 | méiyǒu | do not have; do not have; no

Unlike all the other ways of saying "no" in Chinese that we have talked about so far, (meiyǒu) does not contain the character 不 (bù). Don't let this fact fool you, though.没有 (méiyǒu) is actually one of the most commonly used ways to say "no" in Mandarin.

If we break down 没有 (méiyǒu) into its components, we get 没 (méi), which means "no" and (yǒu), which is a verb meaning "to have". Thus, the literal translation of 没有 (méiyǒu) is "not to have". Not surprisingly, one of the ways 没有 (meiyǒu) is used is to tell someone you don't have something.

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