Comparing "bu" and "mei" - Chinese Grammar Wiki

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Comparing "bu" and "mei"

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

Level

A2

Is similar to
"meiyou" as a Verb (A1)
Affirmative-negative questions
(A1)
Basic comparisons with
"meiyou" (A2)
Negation of "you" (A1)
Negation of past actions (A1)
Standard negation with "bu"
(A1)
Tag questions with "bu" (A1)

Contents
1 is for negating in the present and future
1.1 Structure
1.2 Examples
2 is used to negate habitual actions
2.1 Structure
2.2 Examples
3 is normally used with adjectives
3.1 Structure
3.2 Examples
4 is used to ask questions
4.1 Structure
4.2 Examples
5 is used to negate past actions
5.1 Structure
5.2 Examples
6 Only is used to negate
6.1 Structure
6.2 Examples
7 is used to make comparisons
7.1 Structure
7.2 Examples
8 is used almost exclusively with some
verbs
9 Sources and further reading
9.1 Websites
9.2 Videos
9.3 Books

Is used for

Describing actions, Denying and

refusing

Keywords

, ,

Translations not

is for negating in the present and future

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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 .

Structure

Subject + + Verb
Examples
Whether it's "don't wanna do it" or "not gonna do it," use :

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is used to negate habitual actions

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 in front of the verb.

Structure

Subject + + Verb + Object

Examples

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Please note that, while it is grammatically correct to use in all the sentences above, does not negate
any habitual actions. The sentences above, if they contained instead of , 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.

is normally used with adjectives

When it comes to a simple negation of an adjective (e.g. "not Adj"), use .

Structure

+ Adj
Examples

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Starbucks

is used to ask questions

There are couple ways to use 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 ):

Structure

Subject + Verb + + Verb + Object

Examples

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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 for this.

is used to negate past actions

and can both be used to negate actions that occurred in the past, or to say that something has not
happened yet.

Structure

Subject + () + Verb + Object

Examples

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There are a few things worth noting in these examples. For one, it is still grammatically correct to leave out
the in the sentences using . Also, the sentence using would be grammatically correct, if not for
the ("yesterday") telling us that it is definitely the past we're talking about. That incorrect sentence
using would translate into *"I don't drink wine yesterday" as opposed to "I didn't drink wine yesterday."

Only is used to negate

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

Structure

Subject + + Object
Examples

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

(You can also use to express other meanings.)

is used to make comparisons

or can be used to make simple comparisons meaning "not as... as":

Structure

Noun 1 + + Noun 2 + Adjective

Examples

(Literally: "My
money does not have his money many.")

You can only use or for this purpose, and not .

is used almost exclusively with some verbs

Certain verbs just don't get negated by or ever. These include the verbs ("to be") and ("to be
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(in a place)"), as well as some psychological verbs such as ("to know") and ("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.

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

Sources and further reading

Websites
http://www.docin.com/p-20925643.html
http://wenku.baidu.com/view/e2e8eb2ce2bd960590c67703.html

Videos
Yoyo Chinese: Negation word (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=340G2Sw4Z50&
list=PL94A5E422FB99CDDD)
Yoyo Chinese: Negation word (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMaE2w7C5qI&

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list=PL94A5E422FB99CDDD&index=12)

Books
Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition (pp. 141-4) buy (http://www.amazon.com
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