<p>不 can be used as a refusal. Short form of &quot;不要/ 不答應/ 不許 &quot;</p>
<p>Example:</p>
<p>A: &quot;你可以走開嗎 (can you go away)?&quot;</p>
<p>B: &quot;不(no)!&quot; =  我不要 (I don't want to/ I refuse)</p>
<p>A: &quot;要親一個嗎 (want to kiss)?&quot;</p>
<p>B: &quot;不(no)!&quot; = 不要 (I don't want to)</p>
<p>A: &quot;那我可以走嗎 (can I go)?</p>
<p>B: &quot;不(no)!&quot; = 不可以 (you cannot)</p>

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2023-02-17T23:34:57.373Z
2023-02-18T00:05:14.557Z
2023-02-18T00:05:14.557Z
Tang Ho
<p>It is the same as saying &quot;no&quot; in English. It can mean <strong>a plain refusal</strong>, but more often the answer with a single word &quot;no&quot; is emotionally involved, it is used either when the responder is firmly/seriously against someone's offer or request or teasing the other person jokingly.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>A mother yelled at her son: &quot;Stop watching TV, go to your room study!&quot; The spoiled/rebellious son might simply yell back at her &quot;<strong>No</strong>&quot;, as the demand was not what he wanted, the single-word answer &quot;no&quot; indicates a strong objection.</p>
</li>
<li><p>A man asked his girlfriend, &quot;Give me a kiss, honey&quot;, she might say &quot;<strong>No</strong>.&quot; but is that really a &quot;no&quot;? Depends :)</p>
</li>
</ol>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-02-18T01:33:45.490Z
2023-02-18T14:44:46.000Z
2023-02-18T14:44:46.000Z
r13
<p>不 is used in collocal sense where as a word like چاینا is more suitable for that use case. people usually mistake 算了吧/改天再约 with allowable past tense.</p>

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2023-02-18T12:32:13.200Z
Sorry, what does "چاینا" mean?
Andrew T.
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2023-02-18T11:12:03.070Z
2023-02-18T11:12:03.070Z
Denmark
<p>(My personal opinion is that) Usually you don't simply say &quot;不” in any sort of response. This is more about the tone of the response, as a simple 不 is very imperative. We could use this for instance,</p>
<p>不，这不重要 (no, this is not important) Here， 不 is the word 不是, imperatively demonstrating your strong opinion that it's not important.</p>
<p>If someone were to ask you, say, if you want to go on a date? To refuse you usually say, 不去，(appending with the verb) or 算了吧/改天再约. This is because it conveys a more amiable tone in the sentence. Saying a single &quot;不” is extremely rude.</p>
<p>The context in which you can apply this is basically any reponse you wish to strongly suggest your refusal/disagreement. You can say it to disagree anything basically, but would be quite rude.</p>

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2023-02-18T22:40:05.053Z
Can you take a look at the context I posted in a comment on the OP? In this case it's unlikely the speaker is being very emotional. Could it be a brief response to indicate that they think the asker is stupid or something?
Davis Yoshida
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2023-02-19T00:31:10.523Z
Ahh yes @David Yoshida, this is the same as the example 不，这不重要 that I gave. Here, 不 is simply a very strong "no". "是被教会禁止的吗” is a yes-no question that asks for a definite answer（是或者不是）, in which the speaker simply responds a definite strong no, here, 不 is 不是. Similarly, other questions like 这是我们学校的吗？You may answer with a simple 不，这估计是...  (It would also feel weird if you do not follow it up with something) AGAIN, a single 不 is very dismissive, you have to add a follow up to make it more friendly.
Wolfking
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-02-18T07:14:49.507Z
2023-02-18T07:14:49.507Z
Wolfking
<p>Typically you need to say something like &quot;不是&quot; to reply in the negative to a question, but sometimes in reading or watching a show I've seen a character just say &quot;不&quot;. What contexts make that allowable?</p>

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2023-02-18T06:38:42.170Z
if you don't provide the context,a explanation is out of nowhere
CN.hitori
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2023-02-18T22:37:19.927Z
Well I was just asking for some example contexts such as the answers gave. The most recent context I saw was in "山" by 刘慈欣: "是被教会禁止的吗？” “不，没什么教会，...”
Davis Yoshida
<grammar>
When is it acceptable to simply say "不" in response to a question?
# When is it acceptable to simply say "不" in response to a question?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2023-02-17)

Typically you need to say something like "不是" to reply in the negative to a question, but sometimes in reading or watching a show I've seen a character just say "不". What contexts make that allowable?

**Tags:** grammar

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: if you don't provide the context,a explanation is out of nowhere  
> **username_0**: Well I was just asking for some example contexts such as the answers gave. The most recent context I saw was in "山" by 刘慈欣: "是被教会禁止的吗？” “不，没什么教会，...”  

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## 4 answers

### Answer by username_6 on 2023-02-18. Score: 5 | Accepted answer

(My personal opinion is that) Usually you don't simply say "不” in any sort of response. This is more about the tone of the response, as a simple 不 is very imperative. We could use this for instance,

不，这不重要 (no, this is not important) Here， 不 is the word 不是, imperatively demonstrating your strong opinion that it's not important.

If someone were to ask you, say, if you want to go on a date? To refuse you usually say, 不去，(appending with the verb) or 算了吧/改天再约. This is because it conveys a more amiable tone in the sentence. Saying a single "不” is extremely rude.

The context in which you can apply this is basically any reponse you wish to strongly suggest your refusal/disagreement. You can say it to disagree anything basically, but would be quite rude.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Can you take a look at the context I posted in a comment on the OP? In this case it's unlikely the speaker is being very emotional. Could it be a brief response to indicate that they think the asker is stupid or something?  
> **username_6**: Ahh yes @David Yoshida, this is the same as the example 不，这不重要 that I gave. Here, 不 is simply a very strong "no". "是被教会禁止的吗” is a yes-no question that asks for a definite answer（是或者不是）, in which the speaker simply responds a definite strong no, here, 不 is 不是. Similarly, other questions like 这是我们学校的吗？You may answer with a simple 不，这估计是...  (It would also feel weird if you do not follow it up with something) AGAIN, a single 不 is very dismissive, you have to add a follow up to make it more friendly.  

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### Answer by username_2 on 2023-02-17. Score: 2

不 can be used as a refusal. Short form of "不要/ 不答應/ 不許 "

Example:

A: "你可以走開嗎 (can you go away)?"

B: "不(no)!" = 我不要 (I don't want to/ I refuse)

A: "要親一個嗎 (want to kiss)?"

B: "不(no)!" = 不要 (I don't want to)

A: "那我可以走嗎 (can I go)?

B: "不(no)!" = 不可以 (you cannot)


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### Answer by username_3 on 2023-02-18. Score: 1

It is the same as saying "no" in English. It can mean **a plain refusal**, but more often the answer with a single word "no" is emotionally involved, it is used either when the responder is firmly/seriously against someone's offer or request or teasing the other person jokingly.

1. A mother yelled at her son: "Stop watching TV, go to your room study!" The spoiled/rebellious son might simply yell back at her "**No**", as the demand was not what he wanted, the single-word answer "no" indicates a strong objection.
2. A man asked his girlfriend, "Give me a kiss, honey", she might say "**No**." but is that really a "no"? Depends :)


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### Answer by username_4 on 2023-02-18. Score: 0

不 is used in collocal sense where as a word like چاینا is more suitable for that use case. people usually mistake 算了吧/改天再约 with allowable past tense.

> **Comments:**
> **username_5**: Sorry, what does "چاینا" mean?  

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