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不可能 (bùkěnéng) — Impossible in Mandarin

néng
Impossible

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#1208 most common word

Pinyin colour key: tone 1 (high flat), tone 2 (rising), tone 3 (dipping), tone 4 (falling), neutral.

Tone breakdown

不可能 is pronounced bùkěnéng. Tap any syllable’s row to hear the whole word.

fourth tone (sharp falling, ˋ)
third tone (low dipping, ˇ)
néng
second tone (rising, ˊ)

In a sentence

Nà shì bù kěnéng de.

That is impossible.

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Frequently asked questions

What does 不可能 mean?+

不可能 (bùkěnéng) means "Impossible" in Mandarin Chinese.

How do you pronounce 不可能?+

不可能 is pronounced bùkěnéng. It uses the tone 4 (falling), then the tone 3 (rising/dipping), then the tone 2 (rising). Tap the character on this page to hear native audio.

How common is 不可能 in Mandarin?+

不可能 is the #1208 most frequent word in spoken Mandarin, so it is one of the first words worth learning.

Words at a similar frequency

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Browse more on the Mandarin vocabulary hub, or read how to learn Mandarin tones.