不
Tap the pinyin to hear it
no; not so; (bound form) not; un-
- HSK 3.0
- Level 1
- Old HSK
- Level 1
- Strokes
- 4
- Radical
- 一 +3
- Structure
- Top–bottom 上下
- Traditional
- 不
- Common rank
- #1
- Unicode
- U+4E0D
Sound it out + =
Formation & memory
Break the character into parts you already know.
How 不 is formed
Ideographic compound (会意字)
A bird flying toward the sky 一
How to remember it
no · Heisig RSH #991
ceiling + 人 person + a drop of — as a component also called: no symbol
Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.
Words with 不
The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 不大 | not very (clear, far away etc); not too; not often; infrequently | |
| 不用 | need not | |
| 不对 | incorrect; wrong; amiss; abnormal; queer | |
| 对不起 | I'm sorry; excuse me; I beg your pardon; to let (sb) down; to disappoint | |
| 不客气 | you're welcome; don't mention it; impolite; rude; blunt | |
| 是不是 | is or is not (used to form yes-no questions) | |
| 不一 | to vary; to differ | |
| 无人不 | no man is not... | |
| 不无 | not without | |
| 无不 | none lacking; none missing; everything is there; everyone without exception | |
| 不儿 | (coll.) no (contracted form of 不是[bu4 shi4]) | |
| 一不小心 | to be a little bit careless; to have a moment of inattentiveness; accidentally | |
| 不一会 | soon | |
| 不动 | motionless | |
| 一动不动 | motionless | |
| 不行 | won't do; be out of the question; be no good; not work; not be capable | |
| 不会 | improbable; unlikely; will not (act, happen etc); not able; not having learned to do sth; … | |
| 不安 | unpeaceful; unstable; uneasy; disturbed; restless; worried | |
| 心口不一 | heart and mouth at variance (idiom); keeping one's real intentions to oneself; saying one … | |
| 不克 | cannot; to not be able (to); to be unable to |
Sound family
These characters use 不 as their sound component — compare how they read.