别哭 vs. 不哭
I'm learning the following conversation between parents and their young daughter.
女儿：妈妈，我从哪里来？
妈妈：你是从垃圾箱来的。
女儿：骗人。
爸爸：妈妈没有骗你，你是从垃圾箱来的。
女儿：我不是！我不要！*starts crying*
爸爸：哦，宝宝不哭。
妈妈：不哭，不哭，爸爸妈妈骗你的。
The part I'm not understanding is when the parents say "不哭" in trying to calm their daughter, telling her they're just joking. But I thought 不哭 meant "she doesn't cry" so wouldn't 别哭 be the right choice? I'm confused.
Search from various English teachers...
Answers · 11
1
Both are means "Don't“.
But "不哭“mostly used as soothe somebody. Such as :不哭不哭，妈妈在这里。
“别哭” has a meaning for command. Eg：别哭了！我都烦死了！
1
不哭 is short for 不要哭
It's used very very often to comfort the child. I would say it's used even more often than 别哭.
1
不哭 = no crying
别哭 = don't cry
0
别哭is more like "stop crying"
and 不哭 is "don't need to cry"
0
不哭 sounds softer.
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