▎不, bù, vs. 沒, méi, Negation (1)

 

Function Both 不 and 沒 are negative markers, but they are used differently. Negation is best understood in terms of how a negative marker interacts with various verb types.

 

Negator Verb Types	不	沒（有）
Action Verb	✓	✓
State Verb	✓	×
Process Verb	×	✓

A. Negation of action verbs

(1) In 不 negation, there are two interpretations:

1 Habitual

a. 我們星期六不上課。

Wǒmen xīngqíliù bú shàngkè.

We don’t go to school on Saturdays.

b. 學生常不吃早餐。

Xuéshēng cháng bù chī zǎocān.

Students often don’t eat breakfast.

2 Intention not to

a. 我不去圖書館。

Wǒ bú qù túshūguǎn.

I’m not going to go to the library.

b. 他不找工作。

Tā bù zhǎo gōngzuò.

He’s not looking for a job.

(2) 沒 negation indicates a non-happening in the past.

1 昨天我沒打電話給他。

Zuótiān wǒ méi dǎ diànhuà gěi tā.

I didn’t call him yesterday.

2 上個星期我沒跟同學去KTV。

Shàng ge xīngqí wǒ méi gēn tóngxué qù KTV.

I didn’t go to KTV with classmates last week.

3 今天我沒坐捷運來上課。我坐公車。

Jīntiān wǒ méi zuò jiéyùn lái shàngkè. Wǒ zuò gōngchē.

I didn’t come to class by MRT today. I took a bus.

 

B. Negation of state verbs

State verbs can only be negated by 不, i.e., the condition does not exist.

1 今天不熱，我想出去逛逛。

Jīntiān bú rè, wǒ xiǎng chūqù guàngguàng.

It is not hot today. I’d like to go out and look around.

2 他說中文不難學，可是中國字不好寫。

Tā shuō Zhōngwén bù nán xué, kěshì Zhōngguó zì bù hǎo xiě.

He said Chinese is not difficult to learn, but Chinese characters are hard to write.

3 我不舒服，今天不想出去。

Wǒ bù shūfú, jīntiān bù xiǎng chūqù.

I don’t feel well. I don’t want to go out today.

C. Negation of process verbs

Process verbs can only be negated by 沒, which indicates non-happening.

1 中文課還沒結束，所以我不能回國。

Zhōngwén kè hái méi jiéshù, suǒyǐ wǒ bù néng huíguó.

My Chinese classes have not ended yet, so I can’t go back to my country.

2 我沒忘。你先去學校，我等一下去找你。

Wǒ méi wàng. Nǐ xiān qù xuéxiào, wǒ děng yíxià qù zhǎo nǐ.

I didn’t forget. You go to school first and I will go see you later.

3 我還沒決定要不要去旅行。

Wǒ hái méi juédìng yào bú yào qù lǚxíng.

I still have not decided whether to take a trip or not.

 

Usage In Taiwan, 沒 negation is less common than 沒有 negation. E.g., 我沒有買手機Wǒ méi yǒu mǎi shǒujī ‘I didn’t buy a cell phone’. In mainland China, 我沒買手機Wǒ méi mǎi shǒujī ‘I didn’t buy a cell phone’ is more common.