Beginner Lesson 10.1 – Negative with 不

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Negative In Chinese: Say Not In Chinese

In this video lesson we'll learn how to say not in Chinese. We will focus on the character 不, an adverb used to express negative in Chinese.

  • Negative in Chinese: 不
  • Daughter and son in Chinese: 女儿 儿子
  • Teacher in Chinese: 老师
  • To know someone: 认识

VOCABULARY


GRAMMAR


Grammar 1: Negative in Chinese with 不 · HSK 1

bù(bú) 不 no; not

不 is a negation adverb in Chinese. It can be pronounced in two different ways: bù and bú because of its tone change rule. We put 不 right before the verb to express negative in Chinese:

+ Verb

Here are some example sentences where by using 不, we can say not in Chinese.

S N V O
1

he
shì

is
wǒ dìdi
我弟弟
my little brother


he


not
shì

is
wǒ dìdi
我弟弟
my little brother
2

you
rènshi
认识
know
Lǐ Lǎoshī
李老师
Teacher Li


you


not
rènshi
认识
know
Lǐ Lǎoshī
李老师
Teacher Li

 

Grammar 2: To Know Someone in Chinese · HSK 1

rènshi 认识 to recognize; to know (someone personally)

When we want to say we know someone in Chinese, we can use the verb 认识. For example:

  • wǒ rènshi tā 我认识他。 I know him.

But 认识 usually means you know someone personally. For example if you know a celebrity, you don't necessarily say you 认识 them. And even if you do say you 认识 some celebrity, you cannot say they 认识 you. For example:

Q: nǐ rènshi Lǐ Xiǎolóng ma
      你认识李小龙吗
      Do you know Bruce Lee?
A: wǒ rènshi tā, tā bú rènshi wǒ
      我认识他,他不认识我。
      I know him, (but) he doesn't know me.

认识 also means to recognize something, for example:

  • wǒ rènshi zhège hànzì
    我认识这个汉字。
    I know this Chinese character.

 

Grammar 3: Daughter and Son in Chinese · HSK 1

In Chinese, ér 儿 and 子 both mean son; child; kid. But when 儿 and 子 are put together, érzi 儿子 only means son. 女 literally means female, so 女儿, "a female child" means daughter.

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