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不 and 没: two ways to say not

Chinese splits negation in two — 不 for won't/doesn't/isn't, 没 for didn't/hasn't — and the split is about time and fact.

不 — refusals, habits, qualities

不 negates the present and future, habits, intentions, adjectives, and 是. It says: this isn't so / won't be so / I won't.

我不喝咖啡。

wǒ bù hē kāfēi.

I don't drink coffee.

他不是老师。

tā bú shì lǎoshī.

He isn't a teacher.

明天我不去。

míngtiān wǒ bú qù.

I'm not going tomorrow.

没 — things that didn't happen

没 (or 没有) negates completed events and 有 itself. A didn't-happen is a 没; and "don't have" is always 没有 — 不有 does not exist.

我昨天没去上班。

wǒ zuótiān méi qù shàngbān.

I didn't go to work yesterday.

我没有时间。

wǒ méiyǒu shíjiān.

I don't have time.

The quick test

Ask what is being denied. A fact that failed to occur → 没. A disposition, description or identity → 不. That's also why 不 pairs with 是 and adjectives, while 没 pairs with 了-style completion — and why 没 makes 了 disappear.

我没吃早饭，所以现在很饿。

wǒ méi chī zǎofàn, suǒyǐ xiànzài hěn è.

I didn't eat breakfast, so now I'm hungry.

Look up the words: 不, 没 · All grammar guides

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