In Chinese, there are more than one way to ask questions. Besides interrogative pronouns, there is a way to ask if the answer you are looking for is a simple “yes” or “no.” We are talking about questions with 不 (bù) and 没 (méi).
In this post, we’ll talk about a way to ask these questions, that can also be called “affirmative-negative” questions. Why? Because they consist of an afirmative statement while at the same time denying it.
Questions with 不 (bù) and 没 (méi)
These questions are formed by duplicating the verb and including an adverb of negation, which can be 不 (bù) for present or future situations, or 没 (méi) for the past.
How to answer
As it happens with questions formed with the particle 吗 (ma), these “affirmative-negative” questions are answered with the same verb or adjective as the question itself.
| Do you want to go to China? | 你要不要去中国? | Nǐ yào bú yào qù Zhōngguó? |
| I don’t wanna go. | 我不要去。 | Wǒ bú yào qù. |
| Do you have a car? | 你有没有车? | Nǐ yǒu méi yǒu chē? |
| Yes, I have | 有。 | Yǒu. |
| Are you cold? | 你冷不冷? | Nǐ lěng bú lěng? |
| No, I’m not. | 我不冷。 | Wǒ bú lěng. |
Adverbs of negation
The adverbs of negation are placed before the verb and, as mentioned above, we use 不 (bù) to deny the present and future tenses and 没 (méi) to deny the past (了 [le] is not used).
| Mom is not at home. | 妈妈不在家。 | Māmā bú zài jiā. |
| I won’t watch the movie. | 我不会看电影。 | Wǒ bú huì kàn diànyǐng. |
| My father hasn’t tried Chinese food. | 我爸爸没有吃过中国菜。 | Wǒ bàba méiyǒu chīguò Zhōngguó cài. |
| He didn’t go to school today. | 他今天没去学校。 | Tā jīntiān méi qù xuéxiào |
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