否定
fǒudìng · HSK 3
deny
🚫 否 = no/not + 定 = decide → 'decide no' = negate, deny
否 (fǒu) is the negation particle 'no/not'; 定 (dìng) means 'to fix/decide'. Together: to fix something as 'no' — to negate or deny it. Compare with 肯定 (kěndìng, 'affirm'), its direct opposite.
定 — roof 宀 + 正 (correct/upright, phonetic)
Originally written with 宀 (roof) over 正 (upright/correct), suggesting a household settled and orderly under its roof. Over time 正 simplified to 㐬-like form at the bottom, and the meaning shifted from 'settled home' to the broader senses of 'fix, stable, decide.'