未

Temporal negation: "Not yet." Indicates a state or action that has not occurred but is typically expected or possible.

Technical marker: The eighth earthly branch. Used in calendaric, astrological, or divination contexts to denote a specific time (typically the height of summer) or direction; in these instances, it functions as a proper noun/marker and lacks negative meaning.

Adverbial negation: Primarily used to indicate that an action has not yet been completed.

Probability: In certain constructions (e.g., 未必), it shifts from factual negation ("has not happened") to a statement of probability ("not necessarily").

Contrast with 不/非: While 不 and 非 generally provide absolute or categorical negation, 未 is specifically temporal.

Contrast with 沒: In varying strata of the language, 未 denotes "not yet," whereas 沒 more frequently denotes a completed negative ("did not") or a state of disappearance.

The glyph is related to 木 (tree), where the shorter top stroke suggests a sprout; this reflects an underlying conceptual sense of being premature or unripe.

When determining the sense of the glyph, first check if it appears in a sequence with other earthly branches (e.g., 巳, 申). If used as a negation, determine whether the text is denying a current fact ("not yet") or questioning a certainty ("not necessarily").