从来不 (cóng lái bù) — never (emphasizing the entire past up to the pr…

Definition

Emphatic 'never' covering the entire past up to now, stronger than 从不. Negates the verb directly: 从来不 + verb.

adverb

never (emphasizing the entire past up to the present)

从来不，。
Wǒ cóng lái bù hē jiǔ, yě bù xī yān.
I never drink alcohol, and I don't smoke either.
从来不，。
Tā shàng bān cóng lái bù chí dào, fēi cháng shǒu shí.
He is never late for work; he is very punctual.
从来不，。
Tā cóng lái bù qǐng bìng jià, shēn tǐ yì zhí hěn hǎo.
She never takes sick leave; she has always been in good health.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 從; 从 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

辵辵chuòwalk

Sound part声符shēngfú

从

Same sound today

The traditional form 從 pairs 辵 (walk) with 从, which gives the sound; the character was originally written 从.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 來; 来 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 來 shows a wheat plant: a central ear, upward leaves, and downward stem and roots. The simplified 来 is a later shorthand.

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.

Appears in