不 (bù) is a Chinese character meaning “not”. It is written from ㇐ and ㇒ and ㇑ and ㇔, and takes 4 strokes.
Build the character for “not”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
㇐ + ㇒ + ㇑ + ㇔
Overlapping structure
- ㇐ horizontal stroke unknown
- ㇒ left-falling stroke unknown
- ㇑ vertical stroke unknown
- ㇔ dot stroke unknown
Structure from: Unicode U+4E0D; 现代字形逐笔拆分，依据 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 的四笔几何核验（横、撇、竖、点）
Memory aid
A long bar (㇐) seals the top, a sweep (㇒) slides away underneath, and the post (㇑) with its flicked dot (㇔) stops right there — nothing gets past: not.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
4 strokes
In real words
- 不好bù hǎonot good; bad不 = bùHSK 1
- 不同bù tóngdifferent; not the same不 = bùHSK 3
- 一丝不苟yī sī bù gǒumeticulous; not the slightest bit careless不 = bùspoken asyì sī bù gǒu
- 不仅bù jǐnnot only; not merely不 = bù
- 不妨bù fángmight as well; there is no harm in不 = bù
- 不肯bù kěnto be unwilling to; to refuse to不 = bù
- 与众不同yǔ zhòng bù tóngdifferent from the rest不 = bù
- 不朽bù xiǔimmortal; everlasting; imperishable不 = bù
- 岂不qǐ bùwouldn't it be...?; isn't it the case that...不 = bù
- 不偏不倚bù piān bù yǐimpartial; leaning to neither side不 = bù
- 不堪bù kāncannot bear; unbearable; utterly (bad)不 = bù
- 不屈bù qūunyielding; unbending不 = bù
- 不屈不挠bù qū bù náounyielding; indomitable不 = bù
- 不敢bù gǎnnot dare to不 = bù
- 大言不惭dà yán bù cánto boast shamelessly; to talk big without blushing不 = bù
- 并行不悖bìng xíng bú bèito run in parallel without conflict不 = bù
- 有条不紊yǒu tiáo bù wěnorderly; methodical; in perfect order不 = bù
- 络绎不绝luò yì bù juéin an endless stream — people or traffic coming and going without a break不 = bù
Go deeper
All readings
not
not; no — the general negator, placed before verbs and adjectives
否定副词，用在动词、形容词前面表示否定。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 不好bù hǎonot good; bad不 = bùHSK 1
- 不同bù tóngdifferent; not the same不 = bùHSK 3
- 一丝不苟yī sī bù gǒumeticulous; not the slightest bit careless不 = bùspoken asyì sī bù gǒu
- 不仅bù jǐnnot only; not merely不 = bù
- 不妨bù fángmight as well; there is no harm in不 = bù
- 不肯bù kěnto be unwilling to; to refuse to不 = bù
- 与众不同yǔ zhòng bù tóngdifferent from the rest不 = bù
- 不朽bù xiǔimmortal; everlasting; imperishable不 = bù
- 岂不qǐ bùwouldn't it be...?; isn't it the case that...不 = bù
- 不偏不倚bù piān bù yǐimpartial; leaning to neither side不 = bù
- 不堪bù kāncannot bear; unbearable; utterly (bad)不 = bù
- 不屈bù qūunyielding; unbending不 = bù
- 不屈不挠bù qū bù náounyielding; indomitable不 = bù
- 不敢bù gǎnnot dare to不 = bù
- 大言不惭dà yán bù cánto boast shamelessly; to talk big without blushing不 = bù
- 并行不悖bìng xíng bú bèito run in parallel without conflict不 = bù
- 有条不紊yǒu tiáo bù wěnorderly; methodical; in perfect order不 = bù
- 络绎不绝luò yì bù juéin an endless stream — people or traffic coming and going without a break不 = bù
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 不 mean?
不 (bù) means not; no — the general negator, placed before verbs and adjectives.
How do you pronounce 不?
It is pronounced bù.
What parts is 不 made of?
㇐ and ㇒ and ㇑ and ㇔. The recorded source is: Unicode U+4E0D; 现代字形逐笔拆分，依据 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 的四笔几何核验（横、撇、竖、点）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 不 have?
4. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 不?
一. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 不?
Common ones are 不好 and 不同. The reading of 不 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.