New answers tagged negation
0
I just wanted to complement the other answers.
不错 has two meanings, depending on the contexts:
1) it means "quite good", where it is actually a single word, and you CAN NOT treat it as 不 negating 错.
Example: 你字写得不错啊。Your handwriting is pretty good.
2) it means "not wrong", where it is a compounded word, and you CAN think it of 不 negating 错.
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0
Simply, 不错 means "quite good" in Chinese. It's a single word, not 错 with negating 不.
More examples:
那个女孩长得不错. That girl is so beautiful.
这道菜不错. This dish is quite delicious.
Moreover, 错 is a noun, and nouns should not appear after 不. Some verbs (usually actions like 看/听/去/吃) could appear after both 不 or 没有, but they usually have different meanings or ...
3
没(有) means not have
不 means not
The confusion arises because 错 has multiple meanings:
As a noun, it can mean an error.
没(有)错 means have no error. Or idiomatically, not wrong.
As an adjective, it can mean bad.
不错 means not bad. This adjective is always used with 不 in front.
(有) is usually omitted in conversation.
4
This particular example is completely idiomatic. 不错 is an adjective meaning 'not bad', the negation of 错 as verb 'to wrong; to mistake' is '没有错'.
Generally 没有 is used in past tense or perfect tense to falsify a statement of fact; 不 is used in present or future tense to express (un)willingness.
没有：
你吃饭了么？Have you eaten?
我没有吃。I haven't.
不：
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