Chinese languages

how would i say "don't" as in "don't do this, don't whatever etc."

for instance in cantonese, "don't stand here" is "mm mou yi dao kei ju".
how do i say that sentence in mandarin? please use pinyin, i can't read characters...

i thought it is "bu mei you" or is it "bu yao.."????

"bu yao" or "bu yong" is "don't".

but isnt "bu yong" don't use?

Yes, but it is also "don't". Its intended meaning depends on context:

eg. "ta1 bu2yong4 ying1yu3 shuo1hua4 yin1wei4 ta1 de han4yu3 bi3jiao4 hao3" - He doesn't use English when speaking because his Chinese is relatively better.

But, "Bu2yong4 zuo4xia4!" - Don't sit down!.

"Bu2yong4" in this second context is interchangeable with Bie2 and Bu2yao4.

Though i am a chinese , i don't understand Cantonese.
Here is my answer to ur question.
one meaning of bu2yong4 means you don't need to do something. It is equal to bu2bi4 ,which is more formal. For example: ni2 bu4yong4 lai2 le = ni2 bu2bi4 lai2 le.(You don't need to come). The other is "don't use". For example: wo3 bu2 yong4 mao2bi3 xie3zi4( I don't use chinese brush to write.). Here yong4 is stressed, while yong4 is not stressed when meaning "don't need to do". Grammatically, bu2yong4 is a negative plus a verb when meaning "don't use", and it is best written as bu2 yong4 which is clear to be two words. And bu2yong4 is a word when it means "don't need to".

Don't do this , do that. This is a imperative sentence. In chinese, bie2 XXXX.
or bu2yao4 XXXX which is more formal. Here , bu2yao4 doesn't mean "do not want ".

i am a chinese ,sorry for my poor english.
to your question,i think "don't stand here' in mandarin is "bu yao zhan zai zhe li"
and there is not "bu mei you" in chinese..Jenny Tang wrote:

> how would i say "don't" as in "don't do this, don't whatever
> etc."
>
> for instance in cantonese, "don't stand here" is "mm mou yi dao
> kei ju".
> how do i say that sentence in mandarin? please use pinyin, i
> can't read characters...
>
> i thought it is "bu mei you" or is it "bu yao.."????