不 bù — no · English

不

bù

At a glance · 不

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Evolution of the glyph

Five stages, from a sketch of the real object to regular script — tap a stage, drag the timeline, or play the animation.

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seen
Oracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCE
Seal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCE
Clerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CE
Regular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seenOracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCESeal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCEClerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CERegular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

「不」甲骨文象花萼之柎（花托），金文小篆形稍变。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

「不」本为花柎象形，假借为否定词，沿用至今。

Structure

象形字，本象花萼之柎，假借为否定副词，久借不还。

At a glance

Pinyinbù

Radical一

Strokes4

UnicodeU+4E0D

Character type象形

Theme虚词

Six languages, one character

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English no no, not; un-; negative prefix

Français ne... pas Non, ne pas. «川流不息» : ne s'arrête pas.

Español no No, negación. «川流不息»: no se detiene.

العربية لا لا، نفي. «川流不息»: لا يتوقف.

Русский не Не, отрицание. «川流不息»: не останавливается.

Common words

不bùnot
不但bù dànnot only

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