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不要

Mandarin · pinyin bù yào

don't!; must not

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Characters in this entry

不: bù · no, not; un-; negative prefix
要: yào · necessary, essential; necessity

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

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Mandarin tones

4–4 · bu4 yao4

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Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 3 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

bat1 jiu3

Cantonese word readings for 不要. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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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

to not want
not going to; will not
(auxiliary) do not; don't (as an interjection or imperative)

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

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