不可能 (bùkěnéng) — Impossible in Mandarin
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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.
In a sentence
Nà shì bù kěnéng de.
That is impossible.
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Start freeFrequently 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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What each tone sounds like and why it matters.
Why some tones change in connected speech.
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