NOT 不不
BE CONTRARY to what is SAID in the WORDS that FOLLOW.
Old Chinese Criteria
2. Fēi 非 negates categorising subsumptive judgments when it precedes predicative nominals; when preceding verbs 非 "it is not as if" negates not the verbal verbal proposition but metalinguistically the making of a statement that can usefully be paraphrased as "the claim is not that".
3. Wú 無 "in no way; in no way i.e. regarding no object", when used as a straight negation (contrast SHOULD NOT) is descriptively generalising and not straightforwardly narrative or descriptive.
4. Fú 弗 "would not; could not" prototypically refers to a refusal or inability to do something which in principle one might intend to do.
5. Wèi 未 "not yet; not quite" refers to either temporal or logical incompleteness in verbal predication.
6. Fǒu 否 "It is not the case" is a negative pro-form, and there remains a suspicion that the graph 不 is to be read as fǒu 否 when it is used as a pro-form.
7. Mò 莫 "none" is protoypically resumptive of an explicit or implicit subject.
8. Wú 毋 "don't" and wù 勿 don't the object" when not used injunctively, are negations restricted to the position after such causative verbs as 使.
Modern Chinese Criteria
非
匪
無
未
弗
勿
莫
別
休
毋
免
沒有
不曾
未曾
rough draft to BEGIN TO identify synonym group members for analysis, based on CL etc. 18.11.2003. CH /
LU JIANMING
Old Chinese Contrasts
BROWN 2005 NEGATION
- Novyj objasnitel'nyj Slovar' Sinonimov Russkogo Jazyka
(
APRESJAN 2004)
p.
115 - Vocabulaire européen des philosophies. Dictionnaire des intraduisibles
(
CASSIN 2004)
p.
1364 - Historisches Woerterbuch der Philosophie
(
RITTER 1971-2007)
p.
6.667 NEGATION
- The Encyclopedia of Philosophy
(
BORCHERT 2005)
p.
NEGATION
- Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics. Second Edition ( BROWN 2005) p.
- Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics. Second Edition ( BROWN 2005) p.
- Quiddities. An Intermittently Philosophical Dictionary
(
QUINE 1987)
p.
142 - 古漢語常用詞同義詞詞典
(
HONG CHENGYU 2009)
p.
568/571
Words
不 bù OC: pɯʔ MC: pi̯ut 609 AttributionsWD
- Word relations
- Epithet: 休/REST
Xiū 休 (ant. láo 勞 "work hard") refers to brief break in a working process. - Epithet: 輟/STOP
Chuò 輟 (ant.* láo 勞 "put in a continued honest effort") is temporary discontinuation of human action. - Epithet: 辜/CRIME
Gū 辜 (ant. xún 勛 "significant contribution") is an archaising word referring to serious crimes at an early stage, but later commonly used (mostly in negated form) to refer to any crime. - Epithet: 顧/ATTENTION
Gù 顧 is inchoative and refers to the turning of one's attention to something one has not focussed on before. - Synon: 弗/NOT
- Syntactic words
- padVoppositelitotes: e.g. 不仁"be cruel and violent": do or be the opposite of V"
- padVt.postadVablein verbal complement constructions (e.g. 道不得 'not be able to say', 行不得 'not be able to practice', 看不見 'not be able to see')
- vi(0)it is not so
- vi(0)questionor is this not so? probably to be read fǒu 否
- vt(+V(0))not do the contextually determinate V-ing
- vt+V[0]not
- vt+V[0]do not naturally VCH
- vt{NEG}+S不然而已 "not only so, not only did they do that": not (negating not only a verb but a clause)LZ
- vt{NEG}+V.adN"un-"??un-VERB-ed, un-VERBing. 不教民
- vt{NEG}+V{NUM}less than (不十年 "within the period of less than ten years")
非 fēi OC: pɯl MC: pɨi 185 AttributionsWD
- Word relations
- Ant: 即/COPULA
- Epithet: 常/COMMON
Cháng 常 (ant. guài 怪 "extraordinary") refers to what is regularly met and not unexpected. - Epithet: 徒/ONLY
- Epithet: 獨/ONLY
- Assoc: 禮/RITUAL
The current general term for everything relating to the system of ritual propriety is lǐ 禮. However the term can also be used to refer to individual prescribed rituals. - Assoc: 法/LAW
The current general word for a law, a legal system or any legal provision of any kind is fǎ 法.
- Syntactic words
- vadV.postN{SUBJ}emphatic contrastiveit is not as if N V-s; N by no means/in no way V-sCH
- vadVP非以V “not for them thus to V": not be so as thus to VCH
- vt(0)+N.post-Vgrammaticalisedor is that not the case? n'est-ce pas?CH
- vt(oN)copulait is not (without explicit object) NB: perhaps this should be taken as vt-neg. But we want to separate out these examples for attention.)
- vt+Nnot be identical with NCH
- vt+Nnot be a matter/case of Nab; not be a case of NabCH
- vt+N1[.adN2]those who are not N1 非賢 "non-worthies"CH
- vt+Nappropriateis not the proper way of N
- vt+Ncopulanot because of NP
- vt+Npart ofnot be an integral part ofCH
- vt+npro.adN非己之民 "a people other than one's own"
- vt+N{PRED}copulais not N
- vt+N{SUBJ}.+V{PRED}it is/was not the SUBJECT N that PREDICATED V
- vt+V[0]politely dismissing a possibility as unthinkable: would of course neverCH
- vt+V[0]negativeby no means; absolutely not; the fact is that not (contrary to appearances)
- vt0+S1.+S2It wasn't that S1, but S2
- vt0+Sbecauseit is not that S (but...); it is not because of S; it is not as if S (but...)
- vtoNabis not a case of Nab-ing, is not part of NabCH
- vtoNpartitivenot be part ofCH
- vtoV[0]contrastive with what followsit is not as if ... butCH
未 wèi OC: mɯds MC: mɨi 94 AttributionsWD
- Word relations
- Epithet: 嘗 / 常/PAST
Cháng 嘗 places an action or experience in the past, typically in so far as this past is experienced or witnessed by someone, remarkably often by the speaker himself. - Assoc: 始/BEGIN
The general word for something occurring for the crucial and influential first time or initiating anything, in particular any development, is shǐ 始 (ant. zhōng 終"bring to an end; come to an end" and chéng 成 "bring to a successful end, complete").
- Syntactic words
- p[adV]does not [V] (exocentric verbal construction, compare "I did not" which is also exocentric)
- padScompletenessit was not quite the case that S
- padVlogicalnot quite; not really
- padVlogicalbe not quite right, be not quite sufficient to express the truth; not yet
- padVnecessitynot necessarilyCH
- padVtime: so farnot yet (at that time)
- vinever come (as of a day)
- vi(0)Not yet.
- vpostVor not?
- vt(+V[0])not yet do something
- vtoNfail to do as yet
弗 fú OC: pɯd MC: pi̯ut 63 AttributionsWD
- Syntactic words
- pad.vt+V[0]弗能 "be quite incapable of": not at allCH
- pad.vt+V[0]{PASS}弗可V也已弗可赦也已。“can absolutely not be pardoned":emphatically notCH
- vt{NEG}+.Vt(oN)intensitive, Vt=passiveindeed not
- vt{NEG}+.Vt(oN)unable, with understood objectcould not, cannot; fail to; be unable to
- vt{NEG}+.Vt[0]oNwith explicit object弗利其家"will fail to benefit your family": fail to, be unable to Vt the object N
- vt{NEG}+:Vt1[0]+.Vt2[0](+N)弗能攻"was unable to cure it":not (Vt to V)
- vt{NEG}+V[0] 弗華"fail to be ornate": fail to V, prove unable to V; be unable to V
- vt{NEG}+V[0](oN)object understoodtake care not toCH
無 wú OC: ma MC: mi̯o 62 AttributionsWD
- Syntactic words
- padPexpected answer: no!not ? (modifying an adverbial particle)
- vadV1.postV2so that not
- vadVfutureadverbial negation concerning the future: will not
- vadVnegativenone of the objects
- vadVnegativein no case; in no way; at no point, in no respect; not at all
- vi(0).postSquestion[is this not so?>] functions almost like question particle (compare French n'est-ce pas or German "oder nicht?")
- vt[0]+V[0].postVnegation after pivotal or, occasionally, modal verbs
非以 fēi yǐ MC: pj+j yiX OC: pɯl k-lɯʔCH 62 AttributionsWD
- Syntactic words
- VPtoScausethis is not becauseCH
- VPtoV(0)purposenot be in order toV(0)CH
不復 bù fù OC: pɯʔ buɡs MC: pi̯ut bɨu 38 AttributionsWD
- Syntactic words
- VPadVV no more, V no longer Ricci: 1. Ne… plus.
非徒 fēi tú OC: pɯl daa MC: pɨi duo̝ 27 AttributionsWD
- Syntactic words
- VPtoV1.adV2not only
否 fǒu OC: pɯʔ MC: pɨu 21 AttributionsWD
- Word relations
- Ant: 然/TRUE
The most current word for propositional truth is rán 然 "it is so" (ant. fǒu 否 "be untrue"). - Oppos: 聖/WISE
Shèng 聖 (ant. yōng 庸 "mediocre") refers to supreme sagehood and perfection of character.
- 王力古漢語字典
(
WANG LI 2000)
p.
655 - 王力古漢語字典
(
WANG LI 2000)
p.
655
- Syntactic words
- vi(0)pro-verb"No!" negation used as independent utterance. [Note that in this case it is unclear whether the implicit element should be taken as lexically or pragmatically retrievable.]
- vi[0]adSif [this immediately preceding sentence] is not the case, then S [Note that in this case it is unclear whether the implicit element should be taken as lexically or pragmatically retrievable.]
- vi[0]post | Sor not [Note that in this case it is unclear whether the implicit element should be taken as lexically or pragmatically retrievable.]
- vt(0)[+V[0]]not perform the contextually determinate action V
無所 wú suǒ OC: ma sqraʔ MC: mi̯o ʂi̯ɤ 18 AttributionsWD
- Syntactic words
- PPadVin no fashion; at no level; not in any way; in no way
- VPadVhave no place to VLZ
- VPadVV=passivebe in no way V-edCH
不其 bù qí OC: pɯʔ ɡɯ MC: pi̯ut gɨ 16 AttributionsWD
- Syntactic words
- PPadVOBI 5: might NOT (KT); may in fact not (DK) probably not
- PPadVOBIOBI 4: stative negative applying to Vs referring to prospects of future events (KT)
- PPadV乎 interrogativewould it not V?CH
毋 wú OC: ma MC: mi̯o 13 AttributionsWD
- Syntactic words
- vt{NEG}+.Vt(oN)not
- vt{NEG}+.VtoN:adSnot
- vt{NEG}+.VtoN:adSirrealisif... had not
- vt{NEG}+Vinot
- vt{NEG}+Vt{PASS}not
- vt{NEG}.+VtoNfail to, not; not to
莫 mò OC: maaɡ MC: mɑk 9 AttributionsWD
- Syntactic words
- npro.adVnot, be unable; in no way; in no case
- npro.adVrhetorical questionIs not this..., is it not that... (with a negator or another question particle in sentence final position) 莫...無; 莫...也無; 莫...不; 莫...麼; 莫...否
未必 wèi bì MC: mj+jH pjit OC: mɯds piɡDS 7 AttributionsWD
- Syntactic words
- VPadVnot necessarilyDS
匪 fěi OC: pɯlʔ MC: pɨi 5 AttributionsWD
- Syntactic words
- padSit is not that SLZ
- padVnot
勿 wù OC: mɯd MC: mi̯ut 4 AttributionsWD
- Syntactic words
- padVinsist on not (doing something in the future)
- vt+.Vt[0]oNnot (verb the explicit object) NB: there are surprisingly many examples of this
- vt{NEG}+:Vtt(+N.)+VN=pivotdon't
將非 jiāng fēi OC: skaŋ pɯl MC: tsi̯ɐŋ pɨi 4 AttributionsWD
- Syntactic words
- VPadScouldn't it be that S?
未可 wèi kě OC: mɯds khlaalʔ MC: mɨi khɑ 4 AttributionsWD
- Syntactic words
- VPt+V[0]{PASS}cannot quite/yet be V-ed; SHIJI idiomatic: could not possibly be (VERBED)
- VPt[0]+V[0]it is not possible to V at allLZ
總不 zǒng bù OC: skooŋʔ pɯʔ MC: tsuŋ pi̯ut 4 AttributionsWD
- Syntactic words
- VPadVintensitivedo not V at all
靡 mǐ OC: mralʔ MC: miɛ 3 AttributionsWD
- Syntactic words
- npro.adN: V{PRED}no NCH
- npro{SUBJ}+V{PRED}subjectno one
- padVarchaic/poetic: not; in no way
不可 bù kě OC: pɯʔ khlaalʔ MC: pi̯ut khɑ 3 AttributionsWD
- Syntactic words
- VPt+V[0]emphaticemphatic: certainly not, in no way, not by any means
- vt+VtVt=passiveshould not be Vt-edCH
無以 wú yǐ MC: mju yiX OC: ma k-lɯʔCH 3 AttributionsWD
- Syntactic words
- VPadVin no wayCH
不是 bù shì OC: pɯʔ ɡljeʔ MC: pi̯ut dʑiɛ 2 AttributionsWD
- Syntactic words
- VPtoNcopulais not
- VPtoSemphaticis not that S
亡 wáng OC: maŋ MC: mi̯ɐŋ 1 AttributionWD
- Syntactic words
- vt{NEG}(+V)I do not (V); not to V; no!
- vt{NEG}+Vi[0]not
蔑 miè OC: meed MC: met 1 AttributionWD
- Syntactic words
- vt{NEG}+V[0]will under no circumstances
不少 bù shǎo OC: pɯʔ hmljewʔ MC: pi̯ut ɕiɛu 1 AttributionWD
- Syntactic words
- VPadVnot in the least; not the least bit
俱不 jū bù OC: ko pɯʔ MC: ki̯o pi̯ut 1 AttributionWD
- Syntactic words
- PPadVunder no circumstances, in no way
未有 wèi yǒu OC: mɯds ɢʷɯʔ MC: mɨi ɦɨu 1 AttributionWD
- Syntactic words
- VPadVnot for the time being; not yet
非是 fēi shì OC: pɯl ɡljeʔ MC: pɨi dʑiɛ 1 AttributionWD
- Syntactic words
- VPt+Ncopulanot be (for modern 不是)
- VPtoSit is not a case of S
竟不 jìng bù OC: kraŋs pɯʔ MC: kɣaŋ pi̯ut 1 AttributionWD
- Syntactic words
- PPadVin no way
微 wēi OC: mɯl MC: mɨi 1 AttributionWD
- Syntactic words
- vt+SIt is not that S
未始 wèi shǐ MC: mj+jH syiX OC: mɯds lʰɯʔCH 1 AttributionWD
- Syntactic words
- VPadVnot necessarily; not definitely; not beyond all doubtCH
Existing SW for
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