Negation with 不 and 没

Goals

• Use 不 for habits, future/refusal, and adjectives
• Use 没/没有 for past non-occurrence and to negate 有
• Pronounce 不是 with sandhi (bú shì)
• Choose 不 vs 没 in common beginner frames
• Avoid double negation mistakes

不 basics

不 negates many verbs and adjectives: 不喜欢、不好、不去.

For identity, 不是 is the standard form.

Tone sandhi: 不 becomes bú before tone 4.

没 and 没有

没有 negates 有 and often denies that something happened.

我没有时间。我没看。

Never say 不有.

Choosing 不 vs 没

Use 不 for general refusal or habitual negation: 我不喝茶。

Use 没 for “have not / did not” and for 有.

If you mean “not yet,” 还没 is common later; beginners can start with 没.

Questions with negation

你去不去？ and 有没有…？ are common A-not-A patterns you will meet.

吗 questions still work: 你不去吗？

Listen for which verb is being negated.

Practice advice

Make a tiny contrast drill: 不是 / 没有 / 不喜欢 / 没看.

Put each into one personal sentence.

Use the bu-mei pattern guide drills.

Takeaways

• 不 and 没 are not interchangeable.
• 没有 negates 有; 不是 negates identity.
• Sandhi on 不 before tone 4 is required in speech.
• Contrast drills prevent fossilized mix-ups.

Quick check