HSKReadyGet the appExpressing "Never Again" in Chinese: The Fixed Phrase 再也不/没……
再也不/没…… emphatically means “not … again” or “never again”. 再也不 commonly expresses a firm decision or a continuing state, while 再也没 reports that an event has not recurred by a reference point. Choose by the meaning in context, not by a simple future-versus-past rule.
那家饭馆太贵了，我再也不去了。
Uses 再也不 with sentence-final 了 to express a firm personal resolution for the future.
× 毕业以后，我们没再也见过面。
Incorrect: places 没 before 再也. In this emphatic fixed phrase, 再也 must come before the negator 没 (see the correct version with 再也没见过面).
Corrected example: 毕业以后，我们再也没见过面。
Read the full explanation and examples
Core Meaning and Syllabus Scope
In Mandarin Chinese, when you want to emphasize that an action will never happen again or has never happened again since a specific moment, you use the fixed phrase 再也不…… or 再也没……. In the supplied 2025-11 HSK syllabus outline (labeled for July 2026 implementation), this pattern is listed at Level 4 under fixed phrases (固定短语). Note that syllabus levels describe the supplied outline rather than guaranteeing which exam version is administered at a given test center.
The combination works by pairing 再 (again / anymore) with 也 (even / at all) before a negator. Together, 再也 creates a strong, absolute tone: "not even once more" or "never again". Because Chinese splits negation mainly between 不 and 没 (or 没有), the phrase naturally takes two forms depending on time reference and speaker attitude.
Using 再也不 for Firm Decisions and Continuing States
Use 再也不 for a firm decision or refusal, or to describe an action or state that no longer continues after a change. It can occur in a past narrative, as in 再也不敢. Sentence-final 了 often marks the changed situation, but is not required. “Never again” conveys the speaker’s emphatic view; it is not a factual guarantee of permanence.
那家饭馆太贵了，我再也不去了。
Uses 再也不 with sentence-final 了 to express a firm personal resolution for the future.
When a sentence includes a modal verb or volitional verb such as 想 (want to), 要 (will), 敢 (dare to),能 (can), or 会 (will / likely to), the negator 不 attaches directly in front of that modal verb.
经历了那次事故，他再也不敢开快车了。
再也不 comes before 敢 (dare to), showing the changed attitude after the accident. This example also shows that 再也不 can describe the past.
Using 再也没 for Past-to-Present Facts
Use 再也没 (or its slightly fuller form 再也没有) to state an objective fact: from a past reference point up until now (or up until another reference point in a narrative), an event has never happened again. It does not express a personal promise; instead, it reports what actually occurred or failed to occur.
Because 再也没 looks back over a span of time to report that an experience did not recur, the verb is very often followed by the experiential aspect marker 过. If the verb is a separable verb (離合詞 / 离合词) like 见面 (to meet), 过 goes immediately after the verb root and before the object.
毕业以后，我们再也没见过面。
Correct replacement for the word-order error: uses 再也没 with 过 to state an objective fact from a past time point up to now.
从上个月到现在，这里再也没下过雨。
Uses 再也没 with a clear time span to describe a weather event that has not recurred.
Useful Contrast: 再也不/没 vs. 不再 / 没再
Learners often notice that Chinese also has the expressions 不再 (no longer) and 没再 (did not ... again). Both are completely grammatical, so it is important to understand how they differ from 再也不 and 再也没 in tone and word order.
- Tone and emphasis: 再也不 and 再也没 carry strong emotional or absolute emphasis ("never ever again"). 不再 and 没再 are calmer, more neutral statements ("no longer" or "did not do it again"), with 不再 appearing frequently in formal or written language.
- Fixed word order: When 也 is absent, the negator comes first (不再 / 没再). When 也 is present to create the emphatic fixed phrase, 再也 must stand before the negator (再也不 / 再也没).
那家饭馆太贵了，我不再去了。
Grammatical contrast using 不再: states the same decision in a calmer, more neutral tone than 再也不.
Common Learner Mistake: Mixing the Word Order
Because learners learn 没再 (did not ... again) early on, a frequent mistake is trying to insert 也 after the negator, producing ungrammatical combinations like 不再也 or 没再也. In the emphatic fixed phrase, 再也 is an inseparable unit that must precede 不 or 没.
× 毕业以后，我们没再也见过面。
Incorrect: places 没 before 再也. In this emphatic fixed phrase, 再也 must come before the negator 没 (see the correct version with 再也没见过面).
Corrected example: 毕业以后，我们再也没见过面。
To fix this sentence, keep 再也 together before the negator 没, or drop 也 entirely if you only want a neutral statement without strong emphasis.
Frequently asked questions
Can I say 再也没有 instead of 再也没?
Yes. 再也没 is simply the shortened, everyday spoken and written form of 再也没有. Both mean the exact same thing and follow the same grammar rules.
Is 过 always required after 再也没?
While 过 is very common because you are talking about whether an experience happened over a period of time, it is not required in every single sentence. Sometimes a result complement or a simple verb phrase appears instead, especially when describing a single expected action that failed to happen (for example, saying someone left and never came back).
Can 再也不 ever appear in a sentence about the past?
Yes. 再也不 can describe a refusal, habit or state viewed from a past point, as in 再也不敢开快车. 再也没 instead reports that the event did not recur by the reference point. Neither choice depends on past tense alone.
