Negation

不 (bù) is the all-purpose negator: put it before almost any verb or adjective to say you don't, won't, or aren't. (The one verb it can't touch is 有.)

有 (yǒu) is the one verb that can't take 不 — negate it with 没 instead. 没有 (méiyǒu) means "don't have" (and often shortens to just 没).

Chinese has two words for “not” — 不 (bù) and 没 (méi) — and they're not interchangeable. The key is time: 不 negates the present and future; 没 negates the past and completion.

To tell someone “don't [do something]”, Chinese puts 别 (bié) or 不要 (búyào) before the verb. They mean the same — 别 is quicker and more spoken, 不要 a touch more explicit.

不太 (bù tài) means “not very” or “not so” — a softened negative. Subject + 不太 + adjective (我家不太大 = “my place isn't very big”). It also fronts feeling verbs (不太喜欢 = “don't really like”).

English has one “never”; Chinese splits it by which negator follows 从来. For an ongoing habit, use 从来 + 不: 我从来不喝酒 (“I never drink”). For something missing from your life experience, use 从来 + 没…过: 我从来没去过北京 (“I’ve never been to Beijing”). In casual speech 从来 shrinks to 从 (从不 / 从没).

不怎么 (bù zěnme) means “not very / not particularly” before an adjective or feeling verb: 不怎么好看 (“not very good”), 我不怎么喜欢 (“I’m not very keen”). It’s a soft, indirect way to say something negative — gentler than a flat 不. With an action verb, it shifts to “not often.”

又 (yòu) in front of a negative (不/没) gives it a defensive, often accusatory kick — “it’s not even…!”, “it’s not like…”: 我又不是小孩子 (“it’s not like I’m a child!”). 又 + 不/没 + Predicate, frequently setting up a rhetorical jab (…干吗？ “…so why…?”). Different from the 又…又… of “both…and.”

不怎么 (bù zěnme) before a verb means “not much / not really / not often.” It plays down how much time, energy or frequency goes into an action: Subject + 不怎么 + Verb. 我不怎么运动 (“I don't exercise much”), 他不怎么爱说话 (“he doesn't really like talking”). For a past occasion, switch 不 to 没: 我没怎么复习 (“I didn't review much”). Note this is the verb use, distinct from 不怎么 + adjective (“not very”).

In Chinese, two negatives make a strong positive, not a casual negative. 不会不来 means “there’s no way he won’t come,” so he definitely will. There are two easy shapes, a modal between two negators (不 + 会 / 能 + 不 + Predicate) and 不是 + 不 / 没 (“it’s not that … not”), plus the sweep 没有一个 … 不 … 的 (“not a single one that doesn’t”).

To say something is “not at all” or “not the least bit,” Chinese puts 一点 + 也/都 + 不 (or 没) before the adjective or verb: 我一点也不累 (“I’m not tired at all”), 我一点都不喜欢 (“I don’t like it at all”). 也 and 都 are interchangeable. For a past or completed action you didn’t do, the negator switches to 没: 我一点也没准备 (“I didn’t prepare at all”).

再也不 / 再也没 (zài yě bù / méi) is how Chinese says “never again,” with real feeling and finality. 再也 (“ever again”) must attach to a negator, and the choice sets the tense: 再也不 + verb + 了 for a decision about the future (我再也不喝酒了, “I'll never drink again”), and 再也没 + verb + 过 for a record of the past (分手以后，再也没见过, “since we broke up, we've never met again”).