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See also: 𣎴 and 𤓯

U+4E0D, 不
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-4E0D

[U+4E0C]
CJK Unified Ideographs
[U+4E0E]
U+F967, 不
CJK COMPATIBILITY IDEOGRAPH-F967

[U+F966]
CJK Compatibility Ideographs
[U+F968]

Translingual

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Stroke order
4 strokes
Stroke order

Han character

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(Kangxi radical 1, +3, 4 strokes, cangjie input 一火 (MF), four-corner 10900, composition (GHJKT) or (V))

Usage notes

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This character is not to be confused with visually similar but unrelated 𣎴 (U+233B4) or 𤓯 (U+244EF).

Derived characters

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Descendants

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References

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  • Kangxi Dictionary: page 76, character 15
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 19
  • Dae Jaweon: page 149, character 4
  • Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 11, character 6
  • Unihan data for U+4E0D

Chinese

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simp. and trad.
alternative forms
𠀚
𠙐

Glyph origin

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Historical forms of the character
Shang Western Zhou Warring States Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han) Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script Bronze inscriptions Bronze inscriptions Chu slip and silk script Qin slip script Small seal script Transcribed ancient scripts



References:

Mostly from Richard Sears' Chinese Etymology site (authorisation),
which in turn draws data from various collections of ancient forms of Chinese characters, including:

  • Shuowen Jiezi (small seal),
  • Jinwen Bian (bronze inscriptions),
  • Liushutong (Liushutong characters) and
  • Yinxu Jiaguwen Bian (oracle bone script).

Pictogram (象形) : the calyx of a flower. was then composed into a phono-semantic character with the pictograph for mouth (), to form (OC *brɯʔ, *pɯʔ), representing “no” (negation). This composed meaning then spread back to the original character , making it a synonym of . A new character of (OC *po) was eventually created to represent the original meaning of calyx.

Following Shuowen’s interpretation, Karlgren and Wieger interpret it as a bird flying toward the sky (). The sky being the limit for the bird, thus the idea of negation.

Etymology 1

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Old Chinese had two sets of negatives: the initial *p-series and the initial *m-series. is the prototype of the *p-series of negatives. Although it is the usual Literary Chinese negative attested from the oracle bone script down, its current usage is now confined to Mandarin dialects. In the oracle bone inscriptions, a total of five negative particles can be found: , , , and . With the exception of (discussed later), the remaining can be neatly organised into the following system:

*-V *-ɯd
*p-type negatives (< ?) (OC *pɯ, *pɯʔ, *pɯ') (OC *pɯd)
*m-type negatives (< Proto-Sino-Tibetan *ma) (OC *ma)
( (OC *ma))
(OC *mɯd)

Takahashi (1996) argued that the *m-type negatives are modal (i.e. negative verbs which are thought of as controllable by the Shang), whereas the *p-type negatives are non-modal (imply uncontrollability; actions which are beyond the control of living persons).

In the *p-series, usually goes with intransitive verbs in the oracle bone script, and (OC *pɯd) with transitive ones, although there are some glaring exceptions. Little or no pattern can be discerned in the *m-type category. Takahashi (1996) also proposed that the difference between the two vowel series was whether they preceded “stative, eventive, passive” (*-V series) or “non-stative, non-eventive, active” (*-ɯd series) verbs.

It is possible that the two parallel series of negatives in Old Chinese represent a fusion of the common Sino–Tibetan *ma (no, not) (carried by the eastward-migrating early Sino–Tibetans) and an indigenous negation system in Central China, and that the merger had been complete by the Shang times. Compare a similar system in Proto-Tai: *ɓawᴮ (not [strong form 1]), *boːᴮ (not [strong form 2]), *miːᴬ (not [weak form]); Thai บ่ (bɔ̀ɔ, (literary, archaic, dialectal) not).

The development from Old Chinese to Middle Chinese was not regular. The character replaced (OC *pɯd, MC *piut), to respect the naming taboo for Emperor Zhao of Han, although the pronunciation has remained in nearly all topolects (e.g. Beijing Mandarin , Guangzhou Cantonese bat1, Meixian Hakka bud5, Shanghainese Wu peq). The Modern Standard Mandarin pronunciation is also from this checked coda word, but this word escaped from regular sound changes during its evolution to the modern pronunciation . The expected reading is fu (tone undetermined), with labiodentalisation. The rising-tone pronunciation had a Middle Chinese homophone (“not”), which is now primarily used in compounds, and demonstrates the regular development into modern f-. Another example of a high-frequency word escaping this sound change is (OC *paʔ, *baʔ, “dad”), which resulted in the late coinage of the character ().

is cognate with other negation particles in the *p-type category:

  • (OC *pɯd, “not”);
  • (OC *pɯj, “not be; not”) – can be safely regarded as a fusion of (OC *pɯ, *pɯʔ, *pɯ', “not”) and (OC *ɢʷi, “to be”);
  • (OC *brɯʔ, *pɯʔ, “not; to be wrong”);
  • (OC *pɯjʔ, “it is not; to be not”); and
  • (OC *pɯjʔ, “it is not; to be not”).

Cognate with Thai บ่ (bɔ̀ɔ, (literary, archaic, dialectal) not) (Schuessler, 2007).

Pronunciation

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Note: Pronunciation changes to when followed by fourth-tone syllables (e.g. 不是).

Rime
Character
Reading # 1/3 2/3 3/3
Initial () (1) (1) (1)
Final () (136) (136) (60)
Tone (調) Level (Ø) Rising (X) Checked (Ø)
Openness (開合) Open Open Closed
Division () III III III
Fanqie
Baxter pjuw pjuwX pjut
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang
/pɨu/ /pɨuX/ /pɨut̚/
Pan
Wuyun
/piu/ /piuX/ /piut̚/
Shao
Rongfen
/piəu/ /piəuX/ /piuət̚/
Edwin
Pulleyblank
/puw/ /puwX/ /put̚/
Li
Rong
/piu/ /piuX/ /piuət̚/
Wang
Li
/pĭəu/ /pĭəuX/ /pĭuət̚/
Bernard
Karlgren
/pi̯ə̯u/ /pi̯ə̯uX/ /pi̯uət̚/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex
fōu fǒu fu
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex
fau1 fau2 fat1
BaxterSagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character
Reading # 1/2
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin)
Middle
Chinese
‹ pjuw ›
Old
Chinese
/*pə/
English not

Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system:

* Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence;
* Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p;
* Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix;
* Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary;

* Period "." indicates syllable boundary.
Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character
Reading # 1/3 2/3 3/3
No. 1025 1029 1048
Phonetic
component
Rime
group
Rime
subdivision
0 0 1
Corresponding
MC rime
Old
Chinese
/*pɯ/ /*pɯʔ/ /*pɯ'/
Notes

Definitions

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  1. (preceding verbs and adjectives) not
    這個这个  ―  Zhège hǎo.  ―  This is not good.
      ―  ài nǐ.  ―  He does not love you.
  2. (between a verb and a complement) cannot
    Antonym:
      ―  Wǒ kàn jiàn nǐ.  ―  I can't see you.
  3. Used as an answer of refutation to a polar question: no (to a positive polar question); yes (to a negative polar question)
    日本人不是 [MSC, trad.]
    日本人不是 [MSC, simp.]
    Nǐ shì Rìběnrén ma? , wǒ bú shì. [Pinyin]
    Are you Japanese? No, I'm not.
    不是日本人日本人 [MSC, trad.]
    不是日本人日本人 [MSC, simp.]
    Nǐ bú* shì Rìběnrén ma? , wǒ shì Rìběnrén. [Pinyin]
    *Intonational high pitch here.
    Aren't you Japanese? Yes, I am Japanese.
  4. Used with (jiù) to indicate the first of two alternatives.
    每天上班義工一點兒休息時間沒有 [MSC, trad.]
    每天上班义工一点儿休息时间没有 [MSC, simp.]
    Tā měitiān shì shàngbān, jiùshì qù zuò yìgōng, yīdiǎnr xiūxī de shíjiān dōu méiyǒu. [Pinyin]
    Every day, he either goes to work or volunteers, not leaving any time for rest.
  5. (regional) Used to form polar questions, placed at the end of a question.
    紅蘿蔔 [Guanzhong Mandarin, trad.]
    红萝卜 [Guanzhong Mandarin, simp.]
    Nì ngāi chǐ hóngluóbu bu? [Guanzhong Pinyin]
    Do you like eating carrots?
  6. (colloquial) Question particle placed at the end of the sentence.
  7. (colloquial) Intensifying particle often used with (hǎo).
  8. Meaningless particle used in poems and other texts.
Synonyms
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  • (not):
Usage notes
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  • (Mandarin)
    • The tone changes from fourth to second tone when followed by a fourth-tone syllable.
    • (not):
      • The past-perfect form of is (méi) or (wèi), not *不了.
        當兵当兵  ―  dāngbīng.  ―  I am not becoming a soldier.
        當兵当兵  ―  méi dāngbīng.  ―  I did not become a soldier.
        當兵当兵  ―  wèi dāngbīng.  ―  I have not yet become a soldier.
        當兵当兵  ―  dāngbīng le.  ―  I am no longer a soldier.
        Note that the 4th sentence does not mean "I have not become a soldier". Syntactically, is a verb prefix that forms a stative verb with the verb to be negated. Therefore it can not be modified by the perfective aspect marker (le), which modifies only dynamic verbs. When appears in a sentence, it usually functions as a marker of "currently relevant state" instead.
      • can not be used before the verb (yǒu, “to have”). Use (méi) instead.
        Incorrect:
        *我不有手機。
        Correct:
        沒有手機没有手机  ―  méiyǒu shǒujī.  ―  I do not have a mobile phone.
      • can not be used before compounds beginning with , or another . Depending on the context, other negative particles must be used instead which formally contain a predicate or auxiliary, e.g., 不是 (bùshì), 並非并非 (bìngfēi), imperfective 沒有没有 (méiyǒu), epistemic 不會不会 (bùhuì).
        Incorrect:
        *這個問題不值一提。
        Correct:
        問題不是不值 [MSC, trad.]
        问题不是不值 [MSC, simp.]
        Zhè ge wèntí bùshì bùzhí yī tí. [Pinyin]
        This problem is not unworth mentioning.
      • The verb can be elided, as in the following:
        爲什麼为什么  ―  Wèishénme ne?  ―  Why not?
        • An equivalent construction is not valid in Cantonese.
    • (can not):
      • "not" and "can not" are distinguished only by word order.
        打開打开  ―  dǎkāi mén.  ―  He does not open the door.
          ―  Tā dǎ kāi mén.  ―  He can not open the door.
      • Since must be placed before a complement, if there is no complement in the sentence, a placeholder (liǎo) can be used for this purpose.
          ―  Wǒ dòng liǎo.  ―  I can not move.
    • (no): Although can be used like English no to answer a yes/no question, it is more natural to answer it by changing the question to a negative statement.
      認識 [MSC, trad.]
      认识 [MSC, simp.]
      Nǐ rènshí tā ma? . [Pinyin]
      Do you know him? No.
      認識()認識 [MSC, trad.]
      认识()认识 [MSC, simp.]
      Nǐ rènshí tā ma? (wǒ) rènshí. [Pinyin]
      Do you know him? No.
  • When read in Northern Wu languages, such as Shanghainese or Suzhounese, the syllable is pronounced the same as , despite the existing expected pronunciation.
Descendants
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Sino-Xenic ():
  • Japanese: () (fu)
  • Korean: 불(不) (bul), 부(不) (bu)
  • Vietnamese: bất ()

Etymology 2

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Pronunciation

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Rime
Character
Reading # 2/3
Initial () (1)
Final () (136)
Tone (調) Rising (X)
Openness (開合) Open
Division () III
Fanqie
Baxter pjuwX
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang
/pɨuX/
Pan
Wuyun
/piuX/
Shao
Rongfen
/piəuX/
Edwin
Pulleyblank
/puwX/
Li
Rong
/piuX/
Wang
Li
/pĭəuX/
Bernard
Karlgren
/pi̯ə̯uX/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex
fǒu
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex
fau2

Definitions

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  1. Alternative form of (negation and question particle)

Etymology 3

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Pronunciation

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Rime
Character
Reading # 1/3
Initial () (1)
Final () (136)
Tone (調) Level (Ø)
Openness (開合) Open
Division () III
Fanqie
Baxter pjuw
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang
/pɨu/
Pan
Wuyun
/piu/
Shao
Rongfen
/piəu/
Edwin
Pulleyblank
/puw/
Li
Rong
/piu/
Wang
Li
/pĭəu/
Bernard
Karlgren
/pi̯ə̯u/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex
fōu
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex
fau1
BaxterSagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character
Reading # 1/2
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin)
Middle
Chinese
‹ pjuw ›
Old
Chinese
/*pə/
English not

Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system:

* Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence;
* Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p;
* Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix;
* Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary;

* Period "." indicates syllable boundary.
Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character
Reading # 1/3
No. 1025
Phonetic
component
Rime
group
Rime
subdivision
0
Corresponding
MC rime
Old
Chinese
/*pɯ/

Definitions

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  1. a surname

Etymology 4

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Pronunciation

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Definitions

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  1. Original form of (, “calyx”).

Etymology 5

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Pronunciation

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Definitions

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  1. (Southern Min) Alternative form of

Compounds

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References

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Japanese

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Kanji

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(Fourth grade kyōiku kanji)

  1. not, non-, un-

Readings

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Compounds

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Kanji in this term

Grade: 4
goon

Pronunciation

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Prefix

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() or () (fu- or bu-

  1. un-, non-, in-
    ()(よう)(じん) (buyōjin, careless, insecurity)
  2. bad, poor
    ()(ひょう) (fuhyō, unpopularity, bad reputation)

Korean

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Etymology 1

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From Middle Chinese (MC pjut).

Hanja

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(eumhun 아닐 (anil bul))

  1. hanja form? of (not)
Compounds
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Etymology 2

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From Middle Chinese (MC pjuw).

Hanja

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(eumhun 아닐 (anil bu))

  1. hanja form? of (not)
Usage notes
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  • The reading (bu) is primarily used before (d) or (j).
Compounds
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Vietnamese

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Han character

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: Hán Việt readings: bất[1][2], bưu, bỉ, phi, phu, phầu, phủ
: Nôm readings: bất[1][2]

  1. chữ Hán form of bất (un-; in-).

Compounds

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References

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