TSUMUGU · TOCFL 1 (est.) · 字
不
ㄅㄨˋ · bù
adv — not
字源 FORM — what the parts do
不形a borrowed graph, drawn whole
The old graph carries two tellings: a bird flying straight up and not coming down, or a flower's calyx — the cup under the bloom, the old graph of 柎. Negation borrowed it whole and never gave it back: 不是、不要、不好.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
鳥往上飛，越飛越高——就是不下來。
The bird climbs and climbs — and will not come down.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(假借)不是、不要、不好— not — the borrowed negation常用
→不過— however — no more than
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension
關 · Related
否＝ ＋ 口fǒu set over a mouth 口 — the spoken no丕pīthe lookalike — 丕 grows a foot-stroke below, stops clean