Rules of the Pinyin (phonetics) <5>

Rules of the Pinyin (phonetics)
<5>

Another often used word “不”(meaning “No” or “Not”)has two tones:

A.

When it is followed by a word with the first,second or third tone, it pronounces as “bù” (the fourth tone).

For example:

不吃 -- bù chī (meaning “not eat”)

不能 –- bù néng (meaning “not able”)

不想 –- bù xiǎng (meaning “not think”)

B.

When it is followed by a word with the fourth tone, it pronounces as “bú” (the second tone).

For example:

不客气 –- bú kè-qi (meaning “you are welcome”)

不怕 –- bú pà (meaning “not afraid”)