Level 1 · Beginner
Negation: 不 vs 没
不 + Verb (habit / now / future) — 没 + Verb (didn't happen) · Traditional: 不 + Verb (habit / now / future) — 沒 + Verb (didn't happen)
Chinese splits "not" into two words. 不 (bù) negates habits, the present, the future, and adjectives: 我不吃肉 "I don't eat meat", 明天我不去 "I'm not going tomorrow". 没 (méi) says a past action did NOT happen: 我昨天没吃饭 "I didn't eat yesterday".
A quick test: if English uses "didn't", Chinese almost always wants 没. And remember the special case — 有 is only ever negated with 没, giving 没有 "don't have / there isn't". One more exception: verbs like 是, 想, 喜欢, and 会 take 不 even when talking about the past — 我昨天不想去 "I didn't want to go yesterday".
Examples
我不吃肉。
wǒ bù chī ròu
I don't eat meat.
明天我不去学校。
明天我不去學校。
míng tiān wǒ bù qù xué xiào
I'm not going to school tomorrow.
我昨天没吃饭。
我昨天沒吃飯。
wǒ zuó tiān méi chī fàn
I didn't eat yesterday.
他没来。
他沒來。
tā méi lái
He didn't come.
Common mistakes
✗ 我昨天不吃饭。
✓ 我昨天没吃饭。
Something that didn't happen in the past takes 没, not 不.
✗ 今天没冷。
✓ 今天不冷。
Adjectives are negated with 不 — 没 is for actions and 有.
Related grammar points
Practice this pattern in graded stories like A Tired Day (Part 1), The Missing Walkie-Talkie (Part 2), The Careless Security Guard (Part 1) inside the Literate Chinese app.
