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.
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:
Here are some example sentences where by using 不, we can say not in Chinese.
S | N | V | O | ||
1 | tā 他 he |
shì 是 is |
wǒ dìdi 我弟弟 my little brother |
。 | |
tā 他 he |
bú 不 not |
shì 是 is |
wǒ dìdi 我弟弟 my little brother |
。 | |
2 | nǐ 你 you |
rènshi 认识 know |
Lǐ Lǎoshī 李老师 Teacher Li |
。 | |
nǐ 你 you |
bú 不 not |
rènshi 认识 know |
Lǐ Lǎoshī 李老师 Teacher Li |
。 |
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:
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:
In Chinese, ér 儿 and zǐ 子 both mean son; child; kid. But when 儿 and 子 are put together, érzi 儿子 only means son. nǚ 女 literally means female, so 女儿, "a female child" means daughter.
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