Absolutely (not) — 决 / 断 / 绝 / 万万

Structure 决/断/绝/万万 + 不/无/没 + verb

In cultivated register, certain monosyllables precede a negative to make it categorical and solemn, going beyond the everyday 绝对 (HSK 5) or 一点也不. 决不 (juébù) = "under no circumstances"; 断不 (duànbù) = "in no way" (very literary); 绝无 / 绝不 (juéwú / juébù) = "absolutely no", as in 绝无此事 "there is no such thing"; 万万 (wànwàn) is the strongest of all and almost always pairs with 不 / 没(有), as in 万万没想到 "I would never (in a million years) have imagined". These are fixed, emphatic formulas of the press, essay and oratory, not casual speech.

Examples

对duì此cǐ事shì我wǒ们men决jué不bù可kě掉diào以yǐ轻qīng心xīn。
On this matter we must under no circumstances take it lightly.
他tā断duàn不bù会huì答dā应ying这zhè样yàng的de条tiáo件jiàn。
He would in no way agree to such conditions.
公gōng司sī声shēng明míng，绝jué无wú此cǐ事shì。
The company stated that there is absolutely no such thing.
结jié果guǒ竟jìng是shì如rú此cǐ，我wǒ万wàn万wàn没méi想xiǎng到dào。
That the outcome would be like this — I'd never in a million years have imagined it.

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