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不可 (bù kě) — cannot; must not (expressing prohibition or impossibility); (in the pattern 非…不可) must; have to (expressing necessity)

Definition

不可 (bùkě) is a written-formal "must not / cannot," used for prohibitions and impossibilities. In the pattern 非…不可 it expresses strong necessity — "absolutely must."

auxiliary verb
cannotmust not (expressing prohibition or impossibility)(in the pattern 非…不可) musthave to (expressing necessity)

Examples

  • 不可。
    Zhè ge tiáo jiàn bù kě jiē shòu.
    This condition is unacceptable.
  • 不可。
    Zhè cì kǎo shì wǒ fēi tōng guò bù kě.
    I must pass this exam.
  • 不可。
    bù kě Qīng yì fàng qì.
    Don't give up easily.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

不bùnot
可kěcan

不 means not and 可 means can, so together they mean cannot.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
丂
丂kǎo可kě
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

可 pairs 口 (mouth) with 丂 as a sound part; it is tied to air from the mouth, perhaps singing.

Open 可 →

Grammar

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