Three ways to say 'not'
- 不 bù — general negation. 'Don't / isn't' for verbs, adjectives, and 是: 我不吃辣 'I don't eat spicy', 不是很好 'not very good', 我不是學生 'I'm not a student'.
- 沒 méi — 'didn't' / 'haven't' / 'don't have'. Negates completed action and possession: 我沒去 'I didn't go', 沒有問題 'no problem', 我沒吃 'I haven't eaten'. 有 can only be negated by 沒.
- 別 bié — 'don't!' (commands). 別擔心 'don't worry', 別客氣 'don't be so formal', 別忘了 'don't forget'.
| Mandarin | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 我不吃 | wǒ bù chī | I don't eat |
| 我沒吃 | wǒ méi chī | I haven't eaten / didn't eat |
| 別吃 | bié chī | don't eat! |
| 不是 | búshì | is not |
| 沒有 | méiyǒu | don't have / there isn't |
| 不要 | búyào | don't want / don't (do it)! |
了 — completed / changed
了 le marks a completed action or a new/changed state. It's not exactly 'past tense' — it signals that something happened or a situation changed:
| Mandarin | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 我吃飯了 | wǒ chīfàn le | I ate / I've eaten |
| 下雨了 | xià yǔ le | it started raining (new state) |
| 我懂了 | wǒ dǒng le | I get it now |
| 太貴了 | tài guì le | it's too expensive! (太…了 = 'too …!') |
| 我迷路了 | wǒ mílù le | I'm lost |
過 and 在 — experience and progress
- 過 guò — 'have ever done' (experience). For experiences at some point in life: 我去過台灣 'I've been to Taiwan', 你吃過臭豆腐嗎 'have you ever tried stinky tofu?'.
- 在 zài — ongoing action. Before the verb: 我在吃飯 'I'm eating', 他在睡覺 'he's sleeping'. With 正在 for emphasis: 我正在學中文 'I'm (currently) studying Chinese'.
| Mandarin | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 我去過九份 | wǒ qùguò Jiǔfèn | I've been to Jiufen |
| 我吃過小籠包 | wǒ chīguò xiǎolóngbāo | I've had xiaolongbao |
| 你學過中文嗎 | nǐ xuéguò Zhōngwén ma | have you studied Chinese before? |
| 我在學中文 | wǒ zài xué Zhōngwén | I'm studying Chinese |
| 他正在工作 | tā zhèngzài gōngzuò | he's working right now |
Negation + aspect together
Key combos to remember: 沒(有) + verb = didn't/haven't (drop 了 when negating: 我沒吃, not 我沒吃了), and 還沒 hái méi = haven't yet: 還沒吃 'haven't eaten yet' — the classic answer to 吃飽了嗎.
| Mandarin | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 我沒去過 | wǒ méi qùguò | I've never been |
| 還沒吃 | hái méi chī | haven't eaten yet |
| 沒吃過臭豆腐 | méi chīguò chòudòufǔ | never tried stinky tofu |
| 不會 | búhuì | can't / don't know how (and won't) |
Mini practice
'I didn't eat' — 不 or 沒?
沒 — 我沒吃. 不 negates general/habitual ('I don't eat'), 沒 negates what didn't happen.
How do you say 'don't!' as a command?
別 (bié) + verb or 不要 (búyào) + verb: 別擔心 / 不要擔心 = 'don't worry'.
What does 過 do in 我吃過臭豆腐?
Marks experience — 'I've tried stinky tofu (at some point in life)'.
How do you say 'haven't yet'?
還沒 (hái méi) — 還沒吃 'haven't eaten yet'.
