不许
bùxǔ · HSK 5
can't
🚫 不许 = not (不) + permit (许); literally 'not permitted'
不 negates and 许 means to allow or permit, so 不许 is a flat refusal — 'not allowed, won't permit it'. Stronger and more parental than 不能 (can't / unable).
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'.
许 — speech radical 讠 (言) + 午 (noon/phonetic)
许 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The 讠 (speech) radical signals a meaning tied to spoken acts, while 午 supplies the sound. Its core senses — to permit, promise, or praise — all stem from things granted through words.