do not

Origin & mnemonic

This radical originates from a pictograph of "mother" or "woman", drawn as a figure with arms and breasts. Over time, it evolved to express the concept of negation or "not" in Chinese.

Mnemonic: Two vertical strokes like raised arms saying "do not" or "don't do it."

• 毋wú🔊

  (literary) no

  4 strokes

• 毌guàn🔊

  old variant of 貫|贯[guan4]

  4 strokes

• 母mǔ🔊

  mother

  HSK 6

  5 strokes

• 每měi🔊

  each

  HSK 3

  7 strokes

• 毐Ǎi🔊

  see historical character Lao Ai 嫪毐

  7 strokes

• 毑jiě🔊

  mother

  8 strokes

• 毒dú🔊

  poison

  HSK 5

  9 strokes

• 毓yù🔊

  (literary) to produce; to foster; to nurture

  14 strokes