The use of 不用 (bùyòng) isn't clear to me. I hear it daily after saying thanks ("不用谢"), but I've assumed that it's based on the idea of "there's no use in...." So I would have translated "不用上班吗?" as "There's no use in you going to work?" But for "Don't you need to go to work?" I would have said something like 你不需要上班吗? I recognize 不用 can mean "not necessary" so "It's not necessary to go to work?" makes sense, but I'd like to know how to get a better feel for using 不用.
Posted on: Talking About the Working Hours Policy
August 28, 2011 at 2:12 PMThe use of 不用 (bùyòng) isn't clear to me. I hear it daily after saying thanks ("不用谢"), but I've assumed that it's based on the idea of "there's no use in...." So I would have translated "不用上班吗?" as "There's no use in you going to work?" But for "Don't you need to go to work?" I would have said something like 你不需要上班吗? I recognize 不用 can mean "not necessary" so "It's not necessary to go to work?" makes sense, but I'd like to know how to get a better feel for using 不用.