决不能 (jué bù néng) — (verb phrase) absolutely cannot, must not

Definition

决不能 means 'absolutely cannot / must not' — a strong, emphatic prohibition. Stronger than 不能 alone, more forceful than 不要.

verb

(verb phrase) absolutely cannotmust not

决不能。
Wǒ men jué bù néng fàng qì zhè ge jì huà.
We absolutely must not give up this plan.
决不能。
Nǐ jué bù néng zài fàn tóng yàng de cuò wù.
You cannot make the same mistake again.
决不能。
Zhè zhǒng wēi xiǎn de shì qing jué bù néng qù zuò.
This kind of dangerous thing absolutely must not be done.

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.

氵夬決

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.

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.

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.

Appears in