Chinese Grammar: A Complete Comparision between "bù不" and "méi没"

SNMandarin南北中文 2021-04-07

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Both 不 (bù) and 没 (méi) can be placed in front of a verb or adjective to negate its meaning. However, 不 (bù) and 没 (méi) are not usually interchangeable, so it's important to learn when you must use 不 (bù) as opposed to 没 (méi), and vice versa.

不 (bù) Negates in the Present and Future

不 (bù) is generally used to negate an action that you do not want to do or do not intend to do (in the future). So expressing things like "I don't want to go" or "I'm not going" would be uses of 不 (bù).

Structure

Subj. + 不 + Verb

Examples

Whether it's "don't wanna do it" or "not gonna do it," use 不 (bù):

我今天晚上不喝酒。Wǒ jīntiān wǎnshang bù hējiǔ.Tonight I'm not going to drink.
爸爸不回来吃晚饭。Bàba bù huílái chī wǎnfàn.Dad is not coming back to eat dinner.
老板明天不来。Lǎobǎn míngtiān bù lái.The boss won't come tomorrow.
我知道这个周末不下雨。Wǒ zhīdào zhège zhōumò bù xiàyǔ.I know it's not going to rain this weekend.
你女朋友不跟你一起去吗？Nǐ nǚpéngyou bù gēn nǐ yīqǐ qù ma?Is your girlfriend not going with you?

不 (bù) Negates Habitual Actions

不 (bù) can be used to negate habitual actions, to express what you just aren't in the habit of doing, such as eating meat, or watching TV, or drinking alcohol. This is simply done by placing 不 (bù) in front of the verb.

Structure

Subj. + 不 + Verb + Obj.

Examples

我不吃肉。Wǒ bù chī ròu.I don't eat meat.
你们都不喝酒吗？Nǐmen dōu bù hējiǔ ma?Do you all not drink alcohol?
他不喜欢说话。Tā bù xǐhuan shuōhuà.He doesn't like to speak.
你不用手机看书吗？Nǐ bù yòng shǒujī kàn shū ma?Do you not use your phone to read books?
你晚上不洗澡吗？Nǐ wǎnshang bù xǐzǎo ma?Don't you shower at night?

Please note that, while it is grammatically correct to use 没 (méi) in all the sentences above, 没 (méi) does not negate any habitual actions. The sentences above, if they contained 没 (méi) instead of 不 (bù), would express that the speaker didn't do the named activity (at one particular point in the past). So it would not be about habitual actions.

不 (bù) Is Normally Used with Adjectives

When it comes to a simple negation of an adjective (such as "not cold"), use 不 (bù).

Structure

不 + Adj.

Examples

我们不饿。Wǒmen bù è.We're not hungry.
你不胖。Nǐ bù pàng.You are not fat.
我家不远。Wǒ jiā bù yuǎn.My home is not far.
今天不冷。Jīntiān bù lěng.Today it isn't cold.
我觉得 Starbucks 的咖啡不好喝。Wǒ juéde Starbucks de kāfēi bù hǎohē.I think the coffee at Starbucks isn't good.

不 (bù) Is for Asking Questions

There are a couple of ways to use 不 (bù) to ask questions. One such way is through affirmative-negative questions. This is done by stating a verb and then immediately repeating that verb in a negative state (with 不 (bù)).

Structure

Subj. + Verb + 不 + Verb + Obj.

Examples

你是不是我的老师？Nǐ shì bu shì wǒ de lǎoshī?Are you my teacher or not?
她想不想来？Tā xiǎng bu xiǎnglái?Does she want to come?
你爱不爱我？Nǐ ài bu ài wǒ?Do you love me or not?
你们周末上不上班？Nǐmen zhōumò shàng bu shàngbān?Do you all go to work on weekends?
你的外国朋友们喜不喜欢吃中国菜？Nǐ de wàiguó péngyoumen xǐ bu xǐhuan chī Zhōngguó cài?Do your foreign friends like to eat Chinese food?

不 (bù) can also be used to form tag questions. Tag questions use the positive-negative question form, but are placed at the end of the sentence. Tag questions are used to seek approval or acceptance for a statement, very similar to the English "OK?" or "right?" You can't use 没 (méi) for this.

我们去吃饭，好没好？Wǒmen qù chīfàn, hǎo méi hǎo?

我们去吃饭，好不好？Wǒmen qù chīfàn, hǎo bu hǎo?Let's go eat, is that OK?

你们是好朋友，对没对？Nǐmen shì hǎo péngyou, duì méi duì?

你们是好朋友，对不对？Nǐmen shì hǎo péngyou, duì bu duì?You are good friends, right?

没 (méi) Negates Past Actions

没 (méi) and 没有 (méiyǒu) can both be used to negate actions that occurred in the past, or to say that something has not happened yet.

Structure

Subj. + 没(有) + Verb + Obj.

Examples

他没有打电话给我。Tā méiyǒu dǎ diànhuà gěi wǒ.He did not give me a call.

你没去上班吗？Nǐ méi qù shàngbān ma?You didn't go to work?

我昨天没喝酒。Wǒ zuótiān méi hējiǔ.I did not drink alcohol yesterday.

妈妈没有做晚饭。Māma méiyǒu zuò wǎnfàn.Mom did not cook dinner.

他们吃完饭以后没付钱。Tāmen chī wán fàn yǐhòu méi fù qián.They didn't pay after they finished eating.

我昨天不喝酒。Wǒ zuótiān bù hējiǔ.I not drink wine yesterday.

我上个周末不跟他见面。Wǒ shàng gè zhōumò bù gēn tā jiànmiàn.I not meet with him last weekend.

上个月你不去北京吗？Shàng gè yuè nǐ bù qù Běijīng?You not go to Beijing last month?

There are a few things worth noting in these examples. For one, it is still grammatically correct to leave out the 有 (yǒu) in the sentences using 没有 (méiyǒu). Also, the sentences using 不 (bù) would be grammatically correct, if not for the time words telling us that it is definitely the past we're talking about.

Only 没 (méi) Negates 有 (yǒu)

没 (méi) can be used to negate the verb 有 (yǒu) ("to have") to mean "do not have." You can only use 没 (méi) to convey this meaning. It is grammatically incorrect to use 不 (bù) to negate 有 (yǒu).

Structure

Subj. + 没有 + Obj.

Examples

我 不有 钱。Wǒ bù yǒu qián.

我没有钱。Wǒ méiyǒu qián.I don't have money.

他 不有 女朋友。Tā bù yǒu nǚpéngyou.

他没有女朋友。Tā méiyǒu nǚpéngyou.He doesn't have a girlfriend.

There are times when you can leave out 有 (yǒu) entirely while still expressing 没有 (méiyǒu), (meaning "to not have" or "there is no"). One well-known example of this is 没办法 (méi bànfǎ) ("there is no way" [that's gonna happen]). Both 没 (méi) and 没有 (méiyǒu) are correct, however.

我没办法。Wǒ méi bànfǎ.I don't have a way.
我没有办法。Wǒ méiyǒu bànfǎ.I don't have a way.

(You can also use 没办法 (méi bànfǎ) to express other meanings.)

没 (méi) Is for Making Comparisons

没 (méi) or 没有 (méiyǒu) can be used to make simple comparisons meaning "not as... as...":

Structure

Noun 1 + 没有 + Noun 2 + Adj.

Examples

你 不有 我高。Nǐ bù yǒu wǒ gāo.

你没有我高。Nǐ méiyǒu wǒ gāo.You are not as tall as me.

我的手机 不有 他的手机贵。Wǒ de shǒujī bù yǒu tā de shǒujī guì.

我的手机没有他的手机贵。Wǒ de shǒujī méiyǒu tā de shǒujī guì.My cell phone isn't as expensive as his.

我们都 不有 老板忙。Wǒmen dōu bù yǒu lǎobǎn máng.

我们都没有老板忙。Wǒmen dōu méiyǒu lǎobǎn máng.We all are not as busy as the boss.

上海的冬天 不有 北京的冬天冷。Shànghǎi de dōngtiān bù yǒu Běijīng de dōngtiān lěng.

上海的冬天没有北京的冬天冷。Shànghǎi de dōngtiān méiyǒu Běijīng de dōngtiān lěng.Shanghai winters are not as cold Beijing winters.

You can only use 没 (méi) or 没有 (méiyǒu) for this purpose, and not 不 (bù).

不 (bù) Is Used Almost Exclusively with Certain Verbs

Certain verbs just don't get negated by 没 (méi) or 没有 (méiyǒu) ever. These include the verbs 是 (shì) ("to be") and 在 (zài) ("to be (in a place)"), as well as some psychological verbs such as 知道 (zhīdào) ("to know") and 认识 (rènshi) ("to know (a person)"). For these verbs, it's best to just take them on a case-by-case basis. Being aware of their existence can save you a fair bit of confusion.

他以前没是我的老板。Tā yǐqián méi shì wǒ de lǎobǎn.

他以前不是我的老板。Tā yǐqián bù shì wǒ de lǎobǎn.He was not my boss before.

我没知道他要来。Wǒ méi zhīdào tā yào lái.

我不知道他要来。Wǒ bù zhīdào tā yào lái.I didn't know he was coming.

他小时候没认识她。Tā xiǎo shíhou méi rènshi tā.

他小时候不认识她。Tā xiǎo shíhou bù rènshi tā.He did not know her when he was young.

Note that in non-standard Mandarin you might encounter exceptions to this rule. It's still useful to know the rule!

Source: Chinese Grammar Wiki

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