未: Formal Not Yet in Chinese
未
未 is a concise formal negator meaning ‘not’ or ‘not yet.’ It precedes the verb or state it negates and commonly appears in notices, reports, and fixed written phrases. When it denies a completed event, perfective 了 cannot follow that verb. Everyday speech generally prefers 没 or 还没.
Published July 23, 2026
Reviewed July 23, 2026
01 / PATTERN
See the Structure
MODEL
Subject + 未 + Verb / 到 + Quantity
Read the structure
未 is a concise formal negator meaning ‘not’ or ‘not yet.’ It precedes the verb or state it negates and commonly appears in notices, reports, and fixed written phrases. When it denies a completed event, perfective 了 cannot follow that verb. Everyday speech generally prefers 没 or 还没. Keep the model Subject + 未 + Verb / 到 + Quantity visible while you compare each sentence.
他至今未与我联系。
He has not contacted me to this day.
Choose the right context
State formally that an event has not occurred. Use fixed written forms such as 未到 or 未完成. Report an unresolved status concisely.
项目尚未完成。
The project has not yet been completed.
Respect the boundary
Do not place 未 after the verb. Do not add perfective 了 to the negated event. Do not use 未 as the neutral spoken negator for ordinary conversation.
项目完成未。
(The project completed not-yet.)
Repair the pattern
未 follows the verb it negates: 未 is a negating adverb and must precede 完成. Perfective 了 marks a negated past event as completed: A past event asserted not to have occurred with 未 cannot also take perfective 了.
项目尚未完成。
Use the repaired structure without changing the intended meaning.
02 / MAP
Read the Sentence
Read from left to right and notice the job performed by each part. The labels describe this example; they are not a rule that every Chinese sentence must copy.
他至今未与我联系。
He has not contacted me to this day.
他
Subject
This part occupies the Subject position in the model pattern.
至今
未
This part occupies the 未 position in the model pattern.
未
Verb / 到
This part occupies the Verb / 到 position in the model pattern.
与
Quantity
This part occupies the Quantity position in the model pattern.
我
Subject
This part occupies the Subject position in the model pattern.
联系
未
This part occupies the 未 position in the model pattern.
03 / EXAMPLES
Examples You Can Reuse
Keep the structure stable while changing the people, objects, times, or conditions. Pinyin is shown as reading support; use the Chinese sentence and translation to confirm the grammar relationship.
他至今未与我联系。
He has not contacted me to this day.
项目尚未完成。
The project has not yet been completed.
会议开始时人数未到一百。
Attendance had not reached one hundred when the meeting began.
04 / LIMITS
When to Use It — and When Not To
Use it when
- State formally that an event has not occurred.
- Use fixed written forms such as 未到 or 未完成.
- Report an unresolved status concisely.
Do not use it when
- Do not place 未 after the verb.
- Do not add perfective 了 to the negated event.
- Do not use 未 as the neutral spoken negator for ordinary conversation.
05 / REPAIR
Compare Right and Wrong
Compare the smallest meaningful change. Each explanation identifies a placement, scope, form, or clause relationship instead of treating the whole sentence as one undifferentiated mistake.
项目完成未。
项目尚未完成。
未 follows the verb it negates
未 is a negating adverb and must precede 完成.
项目昨天未完成了。
项目昨天未完成。
Perfective 了 marks a negated past event as completed
A past event asserted not to have occurred with 未 cannot also take perfective 了.
项目完成未。
未 is a negating adverb and must precede 完成.
项目昨天未完成了。
A past event asserted not to have occurred with 未 cannot also take perfective 了.
06 / PRACTICE
Practice the Grammar Point
Complete three short tasks in order: judge the pattern, repair a common error, and build the sentence. Feedback is fixed and reviewed, so these activities do not use a checker allowance.
1. Judge the sentence
2. Choose the correction
3. Build the sentence
Build a complete sentence with 未.
07 / APPLY
Apply It in Your Sentence
Write one original sentence with 未. Your draft moves to the checker through this browser session, selects this grammar point as the first review focus, and waits for you to submit.
08 / QUESTIONS
未: Formal Not Yet Questions
How is 未 different from 没?
未 is formal and written; 没 is the normal everyday negator for past or completed events.
Can 未 combine with 尚?
Yes. 尚未 is a common formal expression meaning ‘not yet.’
09 / SOURCES
Sources and Review Notes
These references support different parts of the lesson. GF0025-2021 supports level placement only; professional grammar works support the explanation, limits, examples, and cross-checks. Their inclusion does not imply endorsement.
Chinese Proficiency Grading Standards for International Chinese Language Education (GF0025-2021)
Ministry of Education and State Language Commission · Ministry of Education of the PRC · 2021
Locator: GF0025-2021 Appendix A, combined Levels 7–9 item 【七—九023】, 否定副词：未 (printed p. 239)
Supports placement in the official combined Levels 7-9 band; the exact site level remains an internal difficulty label; it does not independently establish the usage explanation.
Official sourceModern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical Guide, 3rd ed.
Ross, Ma, Chen, He and Yeh · Routledge · 2024
Locator: Chapter 27, §§27.1 and 27.5, negation; Chapter 37, §37.3, negated completed events without 了
Supports preverbal negation and the prohibition against perfective 了 on an event asserted not to have occurred.
Official source10 / CONTINUE
Continue with a Connected Rule
Compare
别别 for Negative Commands
Compare this lesson with 别 giving an everyday negative command; both belong to negative and prohibitive stance, but they organize a different sentence role or discourse job.
Compare
勿勿: Formal Do Not
Compare this lesson with formal 勿 giving a concise prohibition; both belong to negative and prohibitive stance, but they organize a different sentence role or discourse job.
Compare
不由得不由得: Unable to Help Reacting
Compare this lesson with 不由得 marking an action outside deliberate control; both belong to negative and prohibitive stance, but they organize a different sentence role or discourse job.
Continue learning
不/没不 (bù) vs 没 (méi): Negation
Continue with the reviewed follow-up lesson to apply this pattern inside a broader, explicitly connected grammar construction.
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