决不
juébù · HSK 5
definitely not
🚫 决 = decide + 不 = not → decidedly not, absolutely not
决 carries the sense of a firm decision or settled judgment; pairing it with 不 turns the negation absolute. Compare 决定 (decide) — same 决, locking the meaning in. So 决不 = the decision is made: not, ever.
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'.