10 Ways to say “No” in Chinese
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If you’re new to Mandarin, chances are you want to learn some basic Chinese words and phrases. After “hello” and “my name is,” learning to say “no” in Chinese should be near the top of your list.
1. 不是 | bùshì | no; is not; not be
Usually, 不是 (bùshì) is used when disagreeing with or disputing the truth of something someone else has said. If someone asks you a question with the intention of confirming a fact, you can respond with 不是 (bùshì) to indicate that what they’ve said isn’t 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 that the first entry you see will be 不 (bù). Although native speakers will understand that you mean “no” if you respond to every question with a simple 不 (bù), doing so will not make you sound very authentic.
3. 不对 | bùduì | 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 “not right” or “incorrect.” In general, you can use 不对 (bùduì) when you don’t agree with someone’s opinion or with a statement that they have made.
4. 不行 | bùxíng | not ok; not alright
行 (xíng) means “OK” or “all right” 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 “not OK” or “not all right.”
5. 不可以 | bù kěyǐ | may not; cannot
不可以 (bù kěyǐ) is another phrase that can be used to say “no” in Chinese. It consists of 可以 (kěyǐ), which can be translated as “can” or “may,” and the negative character 不 (bù). Taken together, the phrase 不可以 (bù kěyǐ) can be literally translated as “not can” or “not may.” It’s used in essentially the same way as the English “may not” or “can’t” when responding negatively to a request or question.
6. 不可能 | bù kěnéng | not possible
Want a stronger negative answer? Look no further than 不可能 (bù kěnéng). This phrase consists of the negative character 不 (bù), followed by 可能 (kěnéng), which in Chinese means “maybe” or “possibly.” Add them together, and you get 不可能 (bù kěnéng), which means “not possible,” “impossible” or “no way.”
7. 不用 | bùyòng | no use; no need
If you are looking for a polite way to say “no” to someone’s offer, 不用 (bùyòng) is the phrase for you. Although 不用 (bùyòng) also contains 不 (bù), its meaning is hard to guess using its component parts. 用 (yòng) in Chinese means “to use,” so 不用 (bùyòng) could be translated literally as “not use” or “no use.” However, this literal translation doesn’t shed much light on its actual meaning, which is “no thanks.” In general, 不用 (bùyòng) is used to indicate polite refusal.
8. 没有 | méiyǒu | don't have; have not; no
Unlike all of the other ways to say “no” in Chinese that we’ve discussed so far, 没有 (méiyǒu) 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 没有 (méiyǒu) into its component parts, we get 没 (méi), which means “not” and (yǒu), which is a verb meaning “to have.” Thus, the literal translation of 没有 (méiyǒu) is “not have.” Unsurprisingly, one of the ways 没有 (méiyǒu) is used is to tell someone that you don’t have something.
9. 不好意思 | bùhǎoyìsi | my bad; sorry
If you want to refuse someone’s request in a polite way, consider using 不好意思 (bùhǎoyìsi) or 抱歉 (bàoqiàn). Both of these phrases mean “sorry.” To use these phrases correctly, be sure to pair them with the reason why you can’t do whatever was requested.
10. “No” in other situations
Perhaps the most common way to say “no” in Chinese is to simply use 不 (bù) to negate the most important verb or adjective in the question that you’ve been asked. Note that using this method usually requires you to have some existing basic Chinese vocabulary so that you can identify the key words in the question and respond appropriately.
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