Negation
Negation is one word before the verb — but Mandarin has two of them, 不 bù and 没 méi, and choosing between them is the whole game.
The split: 不 vs 没
不 negates the general, habitual, or future; 没 negates the completed or happened:
| negator | example | |
|---|---|---|
| don't (habit, general) | 不 | 我不喝咖啡 wǒ bù hē kāfēi — "I don't drink coffee" |
| won't / refuse to | 不 | 他不来 tā bù lái — "he isn't coming / won't come" |
| didn't | 没 | 我没去 wǒ méi qù — "I didn't go" |
| haven't (yet) | 没 | 我还没吃饭 wǒ hái méi chīfàn — "I haven't eaten yet" |
A useful mental translation: 不 = "not the case" · 没 = "didn't happen". Compare:
我不吃早饭 wǒ bù chī zǎofàn — "I don't eat breakfast" (as a rule) 我没吃早饭 wǒ méi chī zǎofàn — "I didn't eat breakfast (today)"
Fixed pairings
| verb | negative | note |
|---|---|---|
| 是 shì "be" | 不是 bú shì | always 不, never 没是 |
| 有 yǒu "have / there is" | 没有 méiyǒu | always 没, never 不有 ✗ |
| adjectives (忙, 贵…) | 不 忙 / 不贵 | 不 for states |
| 想 / 要 / 会 / 能 (want/will/can) | 不想 / 不要 / 不会 / 不能 | modal verbs take 不 |
没有 also stands alone as the verb "not have":
我没有时间 wǒ méiyǒu shíjiān — "I don't have time" (没 alone works too: 我没时间)
没 and 了 never meet
了 marks completion; 没 denies completion — so they cancel out. Negating a 了-sentence removes the 了:
我买了票 wǒ mǎi le piào — "I bought a ticket" 我没买票 wǒ méi mǎi piào — "I didn't buy a ticket" (没买了 ✗)
别 bié — "don't!" (commands)
| 别走 bié zǒu | "don't go!" | |
| 别担心 bié dānxīn | "don't worry" | |
| 别忘了 bié wàng le | "don't forget" | fixed expression, keeps its 了 |
不要 bú yào works the same and is a touch stronger: 不要动 bú yào dòng — "don't move".
Answering questions
Mandarin has no all-purpose "no". You negate the verb that was asked:
你去吗？nǐ qù ma? — "Are you going?" → 不去 bú qù — "no (not going)" 你吃了吗？nǐ chī le ma? — "Have you eaten?" → 没吃 méi chī — "no (haven't)"
Pronunciation footnote
不 is officially bù but becomes bú before another 4th tone: 不是 bú shì, 不去 bú qù. Your ear will do this for you long before you think about it.
The takeaway
One decision, made before every negative sentence: is this "not the case" (不) or "didn't happen" (没)? Master that split and Mandarin negation is done — no sandwich, no word-order gymnastics, no article changes.
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