HSK 6 · VERSION 2.0#88

Double Negation Patterns

双重否定

shuāngchóng fǒudìng

How it works

A 双重否定 (shuāngchóng fǒudìng) is a double-negation pattern. In Chinese, double negatives often do not cancel each other mechanically the way learners may expect. Instead, they usually create:

strong affirmation

softened affirmation

indirect assertion

emphasis on inevitability or universality

Example sentences

这并不是一个不能解决的问题，只是需要更长时间和更大的耐心。

Zhè bìng bú shì yí ge bù néng jiějué de wèntí, zhǐshì xūyào gèng cháng shíjiān hé gèng dà de nàixīn.

This is not a problem that cannot be solved; it simply requires more time and greater patience.

在那种情况下，他没有不感到压力的可能。

Zài nà zhǒng qíngkuàng xià, tā méiyǒu bù gǎndào yālì de kěnéng.

Under those circumstances, there was no possibility that he would not feel pressure.

这样的变化不能不让人重新思考原来的判断是否过于简单。

Zhèyàng de biànhuà bù néng bù ràng rén chóngxīn sīkǎo yuánlái de pànduàn shìfǒu guòyú jiǎndān.

Such a change cannot but make people rethink whether the original judgment was too simple.

Key point

Double negation often sounds more formal, more indirect, and sometimes stronger than direct affirmation.

← Return to HSK 6 contents