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不能

Mandarin · pinyin bù néng

cannot
must not
should not

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Characters in this entry

不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
能: néng · to be able; can, permitted to; ability

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–2 · bu4 neng2

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

verb

cannot; must not; should not
to be unable to; to fail to

particle

(neologism, slang) A verbal complement expressing incapability.

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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