没 méi (= not) is used in order to negate 有 yǒu (= have).
我 | 没 | 有 | 这 | 本 | 书 | 。 |
wǒ | méi | yǒu | zhè | běn | shū | _ |
I | not have | have | this | origin | book | _ |
I, me, my | be without, there is no, not have | this | grammatical: measure word, foundation, original, current, this | book | 。 | |
I don't have this book. |
没 méi is also used if an action has not been completed or has never started.
我 | 没 | 看 | 完 | 这 | 本 | 书 | 。 |
wǒ | méi | kàn | wán | zhè | běn | shū | _ |
I | not have | look | complete | this | origin | book | _ |
I, me, my | not have | look, read | finish | this | grammatical: measure word, foundation, original, current, this | book | 。 |
I have not finished reading this book. |
我 | 没 | 去 | 中 | 国 | 。 |
wǒ | méi | qù | zhōng | guó | _ |
I | not have | go | middle | country | _ |
I, me, my | not have | go to, pass away, remove | China | 。 | |
I didn't go to China. |