你不用等。
You do not need to wait.
Nǐ bù yòng děng. The waiting is unnecessary; this is not the same as a ban.
Separate “no need” from “do not”
Understand a distinction that changes what someone expects you to do: 不用 removes a need, while 不要 can tell someone not to act.
What you will be able to do
Interpret simple instructions with 不用 and 不要, decline an offered bag, and distinguish an unwanted item from an unnecessary action.
Lesson 1 of 1 in this Mandarin path.
Before you start
Traditional characters come first. Key forms: 不用 bù yòng (ㄅㄨˋ ㄩㄥˋ), 不要 bù yào (ㄅㄨˋ ㄧㄠˋ), 等 děng (wait), 袋子 dàizi (bag), 謝謝 xièxie (thanks). You may use the readings while learning the characters.
How to use this lesson
- Read the two meanings before memorizing the phrases.
- Identify whether each sentence removes a need, prohibits an action or declines an item.
- Try the four situations and explain your choice before opening the answer.
Learn the pattern
No need to do it
不用 + action commonly means the action is unnecessary: 不用等 means “no need to wait”. It does not, by itself, prohibit waiting. In other contexts 不用 can literally mean “not use”; pay attention to what follows.
Do not do it, or do not want it
不要 + action can tell someone not to do it: 不要等 means “do not wait”. With a speaker and an item, 我不要袋子 expresses “I do not want a bag”. Do not treat every 不要 as a prohibition; the full sentence supplies the interpretation.
Listen for the changed tone
Before another fourth tone, 不 normally changes from fourth to second tone in speech. Thus the dictionary forms bù yòng and bù yào are commonly pronounced bú yòng and bú yào (ㄅㄨˊ ㄩㄥˋ / ㄅㄨˊ ㄧㄠˋ). Written characters do not change. This unit uses dictionary-tone pinyin; the pronunciation guide develops connected speech.
Worked examples
請不要等。
Please do not wait.
Qǐng bù yào děng. 請 adds please; the requested action is to refrain from waiting.
我不要袋子，謝謝。
I do not want a bag, thanks.
Wǒ bù yào dàizi, xièxie. A statement of your preference about an item.
不用，謝謝。
No need, thanks.
Bù yòng, xièxie. A short response when an offer has made the omitted action or item clear.
Build it step by step
- A cashier offers a bag. Identify the context before choosing a short answer.
- If you do not want the bag, say 我不要袋子，謝謝. The noun makes your meaning explicit.
- If the offer is already understood, 不用，謝謝 can decline it without repeating the noun.
- When someone says 你不用等, recognize that you may leave without waiting. Do not silently translate it as “you must not wait”.
Try it before looking
Write or say each answer first. Open the explanation to check the pattern, then close it and try again. These are self-checks; your answers are not stored by this page.
1. Which means waiting is unnecessary: 不用等 or 不要等?
Show answer and explanation
不用等。
不用 removes the need. 不要等 can be an instruction not to wait.
2. Politely ask someone not to wait, using 請.
Show answer and explanation
請不要等。
The intended meaning is a request not to act, so use 不要.
3. Decline a bag explicitly and add thanks.
Show answer and explanation
我不要袋子，謝謝。
With 我 and 袋子, 不要 expresses your preference about an item.
4. How is 不 usually pronounced before 用 in connected speech?
Show answer and explanation
bú (ㄅㄨˊ), followed by yòng (ㄩㄥˋ).
Before a fourth-tone syllable, 不 normally takes a rising second tone. Its dictionary form remains bù.
Keep and use the result
Ask what the sentence does: remove a need, discourage an action or state a preference. 不用 and 不要 are not interchangeable English “no”.
Write a two-line offer/decline exchange and a pair of instructions using 等. Keep the original characters beside your translation. Use the pronunciation chapter to practise the 不 tone change; this page does not supply recorded audio.
Sources and scope
Grammar references checked October 25, 2026. Teaching examples and exercises are original. This is a focused learning unit, with no recorded audio or human teaching review claimed.