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不能 (bù néng) — cannot; must not; should not

Definition

verb
cannotmust notshould not

Examples

  • ，不能。
    Wǒ tài lèi le, bù néng zǒu lù le.
    I'm too tired; I can't walk anymore.
  • 不能。
    Zhè lǐ bù néng chōu yān.
    You must not smoke here.
  • 不能。
    Nǐ bù néng duì lǎo shī zhè me shuō huà.
    You shouldn't talk to the teacher like that.

Origin

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.

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

能 is an old picture of a bear, showing two paws and a face with an open mouth.

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