没
(negative prefix for verbs) have not; not; drowned; to end; to die; to inundate
Closest English meanings
not have·sink
The Calligrapher — Yán Zhēnqīng 颜真卿
Tang master of robust regular script; co-creator of the enduring 'Yan style'.
Tang calligrapher (709–784), master of regular script/running script — the Tang moral paragon whose upright, muscular regular script became the model of Chinese integrity in writing. Tang dynasty
Cultural Story
没 originally showed a man sinking beneath the waves; the 說文 gives submerge. It grew to mean not have. Historians lament a noble house that has 没落, its glory gone, or a talent 埋没 by indifferent times and forgotten by the forgetful court.
Common words & phrases
- 没有 not have · no
- 淹没 submerge · flood
- 没事 nothing wrong
- 没落 decline
- 埋没 neglect · bury
Read the story behind the character
“你 没有 (not have, no) 钱吗?” a friend asks at the counter. Summer floods 淹没 (submerge, flood) the lower town each year. “没事 (nothing wrong),” says someone brushing off a scrape. A once-famous brand has 没落 (decline), its name 埋没 (neglected) in dusty archives.
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