Daily Mandarin Lesson: "Don't Have" in Chinese

How pronounce and use 没有 (méi yǒu)

Qiu Gui Su

 

没有 (méi yǒu) in Mandarin means haven't, hasn't, doesn't exist, to not have, and to not be.

Pronunciation

没有 is pronounced ►méi yǒu. 没 is in the 2nd tone, whereas 有 is spoken in the 3rd tone. This can also be written as: mei2 you3.

Chinese Characters

Traditional Form: 沒有
Simplified Form: 没有
The first character 沒 / 没 (méi) is a negative prefix for verbs. The second character 有 (yǒu) is the verb for to have; there is; there are; to exist; to be. Put together, 没有 means "to not have," "to not be," or "to not exist."

Sentence Examples 

Audio files are marked with ►

Tā méi yǒu shuō huǎng.
他沒有說謊。
他没有说谎。
He didn’t tell a lie.

Míng tiān wǒ méi yǒu kōng.
明天我沒有空。
明天我没有空。
I don't have any free time tomorrow.

Méi yǒu yìyì
没有意义
It's pointless / There is no meaning.

Wǒ gēn tā méi yǒu liánxì
我跟他没有联系
I have no relation with him. 

Zhè méi yǒu yòng
这没有用
This is useless/(more literally) This has no use.

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Your Citation
Su, Qiu Gui. "Daily Mandarin Lesson: "Don't Have" in Chinese." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/mei-you-2278674. Su, Qiu Gui. (2023, April 5). Daily Mandarin Lesson: "Don't Have" in Chinese. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/mei-you-2278674 Su, Qiu Gui. "Daily Mandarin Lesson: "Don't Have" in Chinese." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/mei-you-2278674 (accessed March 28, 2024).