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忍不住 (rěn bu zhù) — can't bear, can't stand (a situation or feeling); can't help (doing something), cannot resist (doing something)

Definition

A fixed phrase meaning 'can't bear' or 'can't help (doing something)' — an impulse that breaks through self-restraint. Often followed by a verb to show the action that could not be held back.

verb
can't bearcan't stand (a situation or feeling)can't help (doing something)cannot resist (doing something)

Examples

  • 忍不住。
    Zhè zhǒng zào yīn wǒ shí zài rěn bu zhù le.
    I really can't stand this kind of noise anymore.
  • ，忍不住。
    Kàn dào nà ge xiào hua, tā rěn bu zhù xiào le qǐ lái.
    After hearing that joke, he couldn't help but laugh.
  • 忍不住。
    Tā rěn bu zhù shuō chū le zì jǐ de zhēn shí xiǎng fǎ.
    She couldn't help blurting out her true thoughts.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
刃
刃rèn忍rěn
Same sound today

忍 combines 心 (heart) and 刃 (blade). The 刃 part provides the sound, and the 心 part is the heart.

Open 忍 →

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.

Open 不 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
主
主zhǔ住zhù
Same sound today

住 pairs 亻, the person radical (written fully as 人), with 主, which supplies the sound.

Open 住 →
Appears in
HSK 2.0 Level 5Emotions & Feelings5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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