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Double negative
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==Chinese== [[Mandarin Chinese]] and most [[Chinese languages]] also employ [[litotes]] in a likewise manner. One common construction is "{{lang|cmn|'''不'''得'''不'''}}" ([[Hanyu Pinyin|Pinyin]]: ''{{Transliteration|zh|ISO|[[wikt:bùdébù|bù dé bù]]}}'', "must'''n't''' '''not'''" or "shall'''n't''' '''not'''"), which is used to express (or feign) a necessity more regretful and convenable than that expressed by "{{lang|cmn|必须}}" (''{{Transliteration|zh|ISO|[[wikt:bìxū|bìxū]]}}'', "must"). Compared with "{{lang|cmn|我必须走}}" (''{{Transliteration|zh|ISO|Wǒ bìxū zǒu}}'', "I must go"), "{{lang|cmn|我'''不'''得'''不'''走}}" (''{{Transliteration|zh|ISO|Wǒ bù dé bù zǒu}}'', "I must'''n't''' '''not''' go") emphasizes that the situation is out of the speaker's hands and that the speaker has no choice in the matter: "Unfortunately, I have got to go". Similarly, "{{lang|cmn|'''没有'''人'''不'''知道}}" (''{{Transliteration|zh|ISO|méiyǒu rén bù zhīdào}}'', "'''No''' one does'''n't''' know") or idiomatically "'''无'''人'''不'''知" ({{Transliteration|zh|ISO|[[wikt:wúrénbùzhī|wú rén bù zhī]]}}, "There is '''no''' one who does '''not''' know") is a more emphatic way to express "Every single one knows". A double negative almost always resolves to a positive meaning and even more so in colloquial speech where the speaker particularly stresses the first negative word. Meanwhile, a triple negative resolves to a negative meaning, which bares a stronger negativity than a single negative. For example, "{{lang|cmn|我'''不'''覺得'''没有'''人'''不'''知道}}" (''{{Transliteration|zh|ISO|Wǒ bù juédé méiyǒu rén bù zhīdào}}'', "I do '''not''' think there is '''no''' one who does '''not''' know") ambiguously means either "I don't think everyone knows" or "I think someone does not know". A quadruple negative further resolves to a positive meaning embedded with stronger affirmation than a double negative; for example, "{{lang|cmn|我'''不'''是'''不'''知道'''没'''人'''不'''喜欢他}}" (''{{Transliteration|zh|ISO|Wǒ bú shì bù zhīdào méi rén bù xǐhuan tā}}'', "It is '''not''' the case that I do '''not''' know that '''no''' one does'''n't''' like him") means "I do know that everyone likes him". However, more than triple negatives are frequently perceived as obscure and rarely encountered.
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