Learn how to use the negation adverb 不
Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
| Hi everyone, I'm Yun。 |
| 嗨大家好，我是芸 (hāi dà jiā hǎo, wǒ shì yún)。 |
| Welcome to the Chinese Whiteboard Lessons. |
| In this lesson, you'll learn how to use the negation adverb 不 (bù)。 |
| Let's get started. |
| First, let's take a look at this sentence. |
| 我不是学生 (wǒ bú shì xuéshēng)。 |
| So literally it translated into I not be student. |
| So it means I'm not a student. |
| Here 我 (wǒ) means I, 学生 (xuéshēng) means student. |
| So if you want to say I am a student, it's 我是学生 (wǒ shì xuéshēng)。 |
| But if you want to say I'm not a student, very simple. |
| You just add 不 (bù) in front of a verb. |
| In this case 是 (shì), 不是 (bú shì), not be. |
| 我不是 (wǒ bú shì), I am not. |
| 我不是学生 (wǒ bú shì xuéshēng), I'm not a student. |
| So the pattern is very simple. |
| Just add 不 (bù) in front of a verb. |
| Now let's learn the pronunciation of 不 (bù). |
| Notice that 不 (bù) can be pronounced in two different ways. |
| 不 (bù) and 不 (bú) |
| When it's by itself or comes before a first, second or third tone, |
| then it's pronounced as 不 (bù)。 |
| However, if it comes before a fourth tone, it switches to the second tone. |
| 不 (bú) |
| I know it seems like a lot, but don't worry. |
| Just remember a few common examples for now. |
| As your vocabulary expands, you'll find yourself picking up on it more effortlessly. |
| We'll cover more examples later to help you get the hang of it. |
| Let's look at the dialogue. |
| When I read, I want you to pay attention to the negation adverb 不 (bù). |
| Find where the adverb is and see how it's used in the dialogue. |
| 你是学生吗 (nǐ shì xuéshēng ma)? |
| Are you a student? |
| 我不是学生,我是老师 (wǒ bú shì xuéshēng, wǒ shì lǎoshī)。 |
| I'm not a student, I'm a teacher. |
| Now let's look at some speaking examples. |
| 我不是老师 (wǒ bú shì lǎoshī)。 |
| I'm not a teacher. |
| 我不是护士 (wǒ bú shì hùshì)。 |
| I'm not a nurse. |
| 我不去学校 (wǒ bú qù xuéxiào)。 |
| I don't go to school. |
| 我不喝咖啡 (wǒ bù hē kāfēi)。 |
| I don't drink coffee. |
| 他不喜欢运动 (tā bù xǐhuān yùndòng)。 |
| He doesn't like sports. |
| So notice the first three examples here. |
| 不 (bù) is pronounced as the second tone. |
| 不 (bú) |
| Because here 是 (shì) and 去 (qù), they are both the fourth tone. |
| That's why 不 (bù) is pronounced as the second. |
| 不 (bú), 不是 (bú shì), 不去 (bú qù)。 |
| And the last two examples here. |
| 不喝 (bù hē), 不喜欢 (bù xǐhuān)。 |
| 不 (bù) here is pronounced as the fourth tone. |
| Because 喝 (hē) is the first tone, |
| and 喜 (xǐ) is the third tone. |
| So 不 (bù) stays as the fourth tone. |
| 不 (bù), 不喝 (bù hē), 不喜欢 (bù xǐhuān)。 |
| And I wanted to try to find where the verb are. |
| The first one is 是 (shì), second one 是 (shì). |
| Here the verb is 去 (qù), go. |
| Here the verb is 喝 (hē), drink. |
| And the last one, 喜欢 (xǐhuān), like. |
Comments
Hide