不禁 (bù jīn) — can't help (doing sth), can't refrain from | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

不禁 (bù jīn) means 'can't help' doing something on a sudden emotional impulse — close to 不由得 but more literary, and never used as a verb with an object.

adverb

can't help (doing sth)can't refrain from

Examples

，不禁。
Kàn dào zhè fú huà, wǒ bù jīn xiǎng qǐ le gù xiāng.
Seeing this painting, I can't help thinking of my hometown.
，不禁。
Tīng dào zhè ge hǎo xiāo xi, tā bù jīn huān hū qǐ lái.
Hearing this good news, she couldn't help cheering.
，不禁。
Kàn zhe hái zi tiān zhēn de xiào róng, tā bù jīn lù chū le wēi xiào.
Looking at the child's innocent smile, he couldn't help showing a smile.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

禁jìnrestrain

不 negates 禁, so restraint fails, giving can't help.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

林示禁

Meaning part形符xíngfú

示示shìaltar

Sound part声符shēngfú

林

林lín禁jìn

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

禁 has 林 above 示, an altar. The 林 part gives the sound, and the altar part connects the character to taboo or restricted matters.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 6 HSK 2.0 Level 6

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