不准
bù zhǔn · HSK 7
not to allow
🚫 bù = not + zhǔn = allowed — literally not permitted
不 means not and 准 means to permit or approve. Together they form a direct prohibition: not allowed. A parent saying bù zhǔn sounds like a buzzer rejecting your request.
不 — single pictograph; bird flying upward
Originally a pictograph in oracle bone script, traditionally interpreted as a bird flying up toward the sky and unable to come down, suggesting negation or refusal. Over time it became the standard negation word in Chinese, used before verbs and adjectives to mean 'not'.
准 — ice radical 冫 + falcon 隹
Originally written 準, meaning a water level used to check flatness, hence 'standard' or 'level.' The simplified form 准 was historically a variant used for 'permit' or 'approve.' Modern Chinese merged both senses into 准, covering 'accurate,' 'standard,' and 'to allow.'