没有【méiyǒu】

méi yǒu没有 negates yǒu有 – "not have", "there isn't" – and, in front of a verb, says that something did not happen. Neither job can go to 不.

Before a noun it can shorten to méi没: 我没钱 and 我没有钱 say the same thing, the shorter one more casually.

没 with a verb: it didn't happen

In front of a verb, 没 or 没有 says the event did not take place. This is how you negate a completed action; 不 has no version of it.

没 or 不

Both translate as "not". 没 reports that something did not occur; 不 says it is not the case, not wanted, or not going to happen.

Swapping them changes the sentence. 我不去 refuses; 我没去 reports.

了 drops under 没

A sentence with 了 after the verb loses it when 没 arrives: the completion marker and the "it didn't happen" marker cannot both be there.

过 stays: 我没去过北京 is correct, because 过 is about experience rather than completion.

Common mistakes

• × 我不有钱 → 我没有钱
• × 我没吃了 → 我没吃
• × 昨天我不去 → 昨天我没去

Questions

yǒu méi yǒu有没有 asks about possession; méi yǒu没有 at the end asks whether something has happened.