不
not: for now, habits and the future
Structure
不 + 动词／形容词 · 不是
What it means
不 means “not”. It negates verbs and adjectives for now, for habits and for the future.
How it is built
不 + verb or adjective: 我不是老师 (I'm not a teacher). 我今天不忙 (I'm not busy today).
When to use it
To say something did not happen, Chinese uses 没, which comes later. 是 is always negated with 不. Before a 4th tone 不 is said bú (不是 bú shì), but the course writes bù.
Watch out
不 goes right before the verb or adjective: ✗ 我是不老师 ✓ 我不是老师. And 有 takes 没, not 不: ✗ 不有 ✓ 没有.
Examples
我不是老师。
I’m not a teacher.
安娜不是大学生。
Anna isn’t a university student.
我今天不忙。
I’m not busy today.
他不喝茶。
He doesn’t drink tea.
Learn this in HSK 1 · Lesson 1: 我是学生 (Who’s who)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. This lesson is free.
Open the lesson →