沒

• Physical Submergence: To sink in water or drown. This extends to being covered or obscured by any medium (e.g., grass covering a path).
• Vanishing: To disappear from sight or cease to be present; occasionally used as a euphemism for death.
• Negation and Absence: Non-existence ("not have," "none") or missing.

• Negator: Used preceding a verb to mark the absence of an action or state.
• Predicate: Used to describe a state of non-existence.

• Contrast with 莫 (mò): While often interchangeable for negation, 莫 typically functions as a general negative, a prohibition ("do not"), or an indefinite pronoun ("no one"). In contrast, 沒 frequently carries a nuance of resultant absence—suggesting something is missing because it has vanished, been lost, or submerged.

• Readings: The reading //mò// is typically associated with the physical act of sinking, while //méi// is typically associated with negation and absence.
• Variants: Variants include U+231F6 and the simplified form 没 (U+6CA1).

When translating, determine which axis is active:

1. Physical: Is there a literal act of sinking, vanishing, or being covered by a material?

2. Grammatical: Is it negating a verb or asserting the absence of an object? If so, check if the context suggests a "disappearance" rather than simple negation.