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How to Say ‘Don't want / not need’ in Traditional Chinese

不要

bú yào

[byao]

💬 Usage Tip: In [要不要], the second half is not a separate "don't want" meaning here; together they make an A-not-A question pattern for yes/no questions. The same pattern appears in [去不去] "are you going?" and [是不是] "is it?"

Phrase Breakdown

不要

bú yào

[byao]

don't; do not want to

不要 can mean 'don't' for prohibition or 'do not want' depending on context.

Example

現在不要說話。

Don't talk now.

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