In Chinese, there are many ways to express negation such as the use of 没，不可以 etc. In this post, we will be learning negation through using the commonly used characters 勿 (wù), 别 (bié), and 不要 (bù yào).
How to use these common used characters 勿 (wù), 别 (bié), and 不要 (bù yào) correctly? 别 (bié), and 不要 (bù yào) are interchangeable most of the time, but 勿 (wù) cannot be replaced as it is mostly used in formal situation.
勿 (wù)
The character 勿 carries a sense of prohibition or a strong imperative to refrain from doing something. Its usage is often found in written language, particularly in formal and literary contexts.
别 (bié)
The character 别 is widely used in both spoken and written Chinese to indicate negation or prohibition. It is more commonly used in everyday language compared to 勿. 别 (bié) can be used as a persuasion as well as a speculation that certain things should or must not happen. The Chinese word 别 (bié) can mean don’t or better not when used as a command.
不要 (bù yào)
不要 is a combination of the negation marker 不 (bù) and the verb 要 (yào), which means “to want” or “to need.” 不要 is used to express a stronger and more explicit form of negation. It conveys the notion of actively not wanting or desiring something.
不要 can also be used to reject offers or refuse something. For instance, 不要 (bù yào) on its own can be used to decline an invitation or politely refuse an offer. This usage showcases the directness and clarity of 不要 in expressing negation.
Choice of negation marker
The choice of negation marker depends on the context and the desired level of politeness or formality. While 别 and 不要 are more commonly used in everyday conversations, 勿 is reserved for more formal situations or written language. In some cases, these negation markers can be used interchangeably, but each carries its own connotations.
别 as a commandment
别吵。
bié chǎo .
Be quiet / hush / don’t make so much noise
别说了。
bié shuō le.
Knock it off / cut it out / that’s enough
别乱拿他的东西。
bié luàn ná tā de dōng xi.
Don’t mess with his things.
Using 别 as an advise
酒后别开车。
jiǔ hòu bié kāi chē
Don’t drive after drinking.
别太抬举他。
bié tài tái jǔ tā.
Don’t flatter him too much.
别不懂规矩。
bié bù dǒng guī jǔ.
You have got to know the rules.
别 as a persuasion
别这样嘛。
bié zhè yàng ma.
Don’t be like that / Come on .
别不理我。
bié bù lǐ wǒ.
Don’t shut me out / Don’t ignore me.
别生气，我不是故意的。
bié shēng qì, wǒ bù shì gù yì de.
Don’t be angry, I didn’t mean to.
Speculate that certain things should or must not happen
明天最好别下雨。
míng tiān zuì hǎo bié xià yǔ.
Hopefully it will not rain tomorrow.
你别是受骗了吧。
nǐ bié shì shòu piàn le ba.
Don’t tell me you got cheated .
*usually use together with 是
When 不要 cannot be replaced with 别
我不要你的同情。
wǒ bù yào nǐ de tóng qíng.
I don’t want (do not need) your sympathy.
*you cannot replace 不要 to 别 in this sentence because the subject is a first person pronoun and it does not have the meaning of advise or command.
我还是不要去了,你自己去就行了。
wǒ hái shì bù yào qù le, nǐ zì jǐ qù jiù xíng le.
I think I better not go, you can go by yourself.
*you cannot replace 不要 to 别 if it has the meaning of don’t want to. But, if it is a suggestion like the sentence above, you can replace 不要 to 别 even though the subject is the first person pronoun. You can say 我还是别去了…
How to use 勿
勿 and 不要 both mean to persuade or stop someone from doing something. However, 勿 is used in written form, whereas 不要 is in spoken form.
请勿在此吸烟。
qǐng wù zài cǐ xī yān.
Please do not smoke here.
*you cannot replace 勿 to 不要 in written form.
火车内请勿大声喧哗。
huǒ chē nèi qǐng wù dà shēng xuān huá.
Do not make loud noises in the train.
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