没
méi · HSK 1
not
🚫 沒 = 氵(water) + 殳; original sense: sink under water, vanish → 'not have'
The right side 殳 once depicted a hand grasping; combined with 氵(water) it meant submerged or swallowed up. From 'gone under' came the modern sense of absence: 没有 = not have.
没 — water 氵 + 殳 (hand with weapon)
Originally depicted something sinking or being submerged in water, combining the water radical 氵 with 殳, suggesting a hand reaching into a whirlpool. The core sense was 'to sink, drown, disappear under water.' From there it extended to 'to vanish, not have,' giving the modern negative meaning 'not, have not.'