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决不 (jué bù) — not at all; by no means; under no circumstances

Definition

An emphatic absolute negative ('absolutely not, by no means') — far stronger than 不 or 别. Common in written/argumentative register (debates, statements of principle).

adverb
not at allby no meansunder no circumstances

Examples

  • 。
    Wǒ jué bù huì fàng qì zhè ge mù biāo.
    I will by no means give up on this goal.
  • 决不。
    Zhè jiàn shì jué bù kě néng shì tā zuò de.
    Under no circumstances could he have done this.
  • 决不。
    Wǒ men jué bù xiāng xìn nà xiē yáo yán.
    We simply do not believe those rumors.

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.

决juéabsolutely
不bùnot

决 'absolutely' plus 不 'not' gives 'by no means'.

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 決; 决 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵Written in full as水shuǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
夬
夬guài決jué
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 決 has 氵 (water) and 夬, which gives the sound. This describes 決, not the simplified 决.

Open 决 →

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 →
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