不 is the character for “no; not”. It is made out of 4 strokes.
| Chinese Character | Simplified Version | Bopomofo | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 不 | 不 | ㄅㄨˋ | bù |
Definition
No; not (negative prefix)
Historical Origins
The character 不 originally depicted the calyx of a flower. Over time, it evolved into a phono-semantic compound when combined with the pictograph for mouth (口), forming 否 (OC *brɯʔ, *pɯʔ), which means “no” or denotes negation. This compounded meaning of negation then influenced the original character 不, making it synonymous with 否. As a result, to preserve the original meaning of “calyx,” a new character, 柎 (OC *po), was created.
Vocabulary with the Character 不
| Chinese | Bopomofo | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 不錯 | ㄅㄨˋ ㄘㄨㄛˋ | bùcuò | Not bad |
| 不行 | ㄅㄨˋ ㄒㄧㄥˊ | bùxíng | Not okay, not allowed |
| 不要 | ㄅㄨˋ ㄧㄠˋ | bùyào | Don’t want |
| 不是 | ㄅㄨˋ ㄕˋ | búshì | Is not, are not |
| 不過 | ㄅㄨˋ ㄍㄨㄛˋ | búguò | However, but |
| 不管 | ㄅㄨˋ ㄍㄨㄢˇ | bùguǎn | Regardless |
| 不用 | ㄅㄨˋ ㄩㄥˋ | búyòng | No need |
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