不
bù
I adv.
1) not
2) no
II cons.
1) 不 A 不 B (where A B are paired synonyms): not A B
不慌不忙 unhurried
2) 不 A 不 B (where A B are antonymous stative verbs): neither A nor B
不大不小 neither (too) big nor (too) small
3) 不 A 不 B (where A B are antonymous verbs): no B without A
不破不立 no constructing without destroying
4) 不 A ér B: do B without doing A
不战而胜 win without fighting
5) A 不 A (the matter/question of): A or not A
博士不博士，我无所谓。 Whether or not I get a PhD makes no difference to me.
6) V1 不 V1V2 (variant form of V1V2 不 V1V2, where V1V2 is a compound verb): whether or not V1V2
可不可能？ Is it possible that ...?
III pref.
non-; un-