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HSK 6 Special structures (把 · 被 · 是…的 · 让)

无 … 不 … / 无不

There is no… without… / all without exception (无…不…/无不)

Structure 无 + X + 不 + Y ("there is no X without Y") · 无不 / 无一不 + verb ("all, without exception")

无…不… (wú… bù…) is an emphatic double negative typical of literary prose and proverbs. In the frame 无 X 不 Y it means "there is no X without Y" (无风不起浪 = "no waves without wind", i.e. every rumour has a source). When 无不 or 无一不 precede a verb, they mean "all, without exception": 无不动容 = "everyone was moved". 无 is the written form of 没有, so this turn of phrase sounds far more literary than the colloquial 没有…不…的, which conveys the same idea in everyday speech.

Examples

  • 俗sú话huà说shuō,无wú风fēng不bù起qǐ浪làng。

    As the saying goes, there are no waves without wind (every rumour has a root).

  • 听tīng完wán他tā的de故gù事shi,在zài座zuò的de人rén无wú不bù动dòng容róng。

    On hearing his story, everyone present, without exception, was moved.

  • 这zhè座zuò园yuán林lín的de每měi一yī处chù细xì节jié都dōu无wú一yī不bù精jīng雕diāo细xì琢zhuó。

    In this garden there is not a single detail that is not exquisitely wrought.

  • 凡fán是shì来lái过guò这zhè里lǐ的de人rén,无wú不bù称chēng赞zàn。

    Everyone who has come here praises it, without exception.

Levels are indicative: they follow the standard Chinese Grammar Wiki (AllSet Learning) progression, not an official HSK 3.0 mapping. We never assign levels by eye.

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