After Ni Hao “hello” learning to say ‘yes’ and “no” in Chinese could be valuable. Learning to say “yes” is usually one of the first things you learn when studying a new language. Unfortunately, in Chinese, there’s no direct equivalent to the English “yes.” Except, 是 (🔈 shì)!
However, there are a dozen ways to refuse, just say no 🔈 不要 bùyào!
Saying “no” is a conversational skill. That’s especially true in China, where you’re going to receive all sorts of offers to buy a bootleg ROLEX on the streets of Shanghai and other things.
不是 bùshì (pronounced "búshì") no incorrect
不是的 bùshìde (pronounced "búshìde") no incorrect
不 bùno (abrupt, can be impolite)
不对 bùduì (pronounced "búduì") no incorrect
不行 bùxíngno (can be impolite)
不可以 bù kěyǐno, you can't/may not
不可能 bù kěnéngimpossible/no way can be impolite
不用 bùyòng (pronounced "búyòng") No, thanks polite
没有 méiyǒuno
不好意思 bù hǎoyìsi + explanationsorry (polite)
抱歉 bàoqiàn + explanation-sorry polite
不会 bùhuì (pronounced "búhuì" No, [I] can't
不要 b ù yào (pronounced "búyào" No, [I] don't want to/don't want it
不喜欢 bù xǐhuānNo, [I] don't like it
I am glad that when I asked my future in-laws if I could marry their youngest daughter that they did not say these NOs.
Also, three suggestions that could help you get noticed and perhaps even accepted if you try really hard.
1/ Wear red, 2/ Be kind and direct 3/ Make her laugh 😆 Finally, this will require some research. try it, she will 👍 like it.
尝试 (1) 对您的口头示好保持直接和诚实，(2) 确保您的着装适合这个场合，以及 (3) 使用不具威胁性的幽默来缓和气氛。
On the other hand, I confess to being a wannabe Latin lover, so when I met my future mother in law, I tried giving her a hug and quickly learned that was a NO - NO. Review:
| Hànzì | Pīnyīn | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| 不是 | bùshì (pronounced "búshì") | no/incorrect |
| 不是的 | bùshìde (pronounced "búshìde") | no/incorrect |
| 不 | bù | no (abrupt, can be impolite) |
| 不对 | bùduì (pronounced "búduì") | no/incorrect |
| 不行 | bùxíng | no (can be impolite) |
| 不可以 | bù kěyǐ | no, [you] can't/may not |
| 不可能 | bù kěnéng | impossible/no way (can be impolite) |
| 不用 | bùyòng (pronounced "búyòng") | no, thanks (polite) |
| 没有 | méiyǒu | no |
| 不好意思 | bù hǎoyìsi + explanation | sorry (polite) |
| 抱歉 | bàoqiàn + explanation | sorry (polite) |
| 不会 | bùhuì (pronounced "búhuì") | No, [I] can't |
| 不要 | bù yào (pronounced "búyào") | No, [I] don't want to/don't want it |
| 不喜欢 | bù xǐhuān | No, [I] don't like it |