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恨不得 (hèn bu de) — to wish one could; to be dying to; to itch to (do sth)

Definition

恨不得 (hèn bu de) means 'to wish one could' — it expresses eager but frustrated desire. Stronger than 巴不得, which is simply 'eager, can't wait to' without the sense of regret at not being able to do it.

verb
to wish one couldto be dying toto itch to (do sth)

Examples

  • 恨不得。
    Wǒ hèn bu de mǎ shàng huí jiā.
    I wish I could go home right now.
  • 恨不得。
    Tā hèn bu de bǎ zhè jiàn shì gào sù suǒ yǒu rén.
    He wishes he could tell everyone about this.
  • 恨不得。
    Tā hèn bu de lì kè fēi dào běi jīng.
    She wishes she could fly to Beijing immediately.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

恨hènhate
不得not able
不bùnot得déable
偏正Modifier + head

恨 (hate) plus 不得 (not able) expresses hating that one cannot do something.

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
忄Written in full as心xīnheart; thought; emotion
Sound part声符shēngfú
艮
艮gèn恨hèn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left side 忄 is the heart, pointing to an emotion such as regret or hate. The right side 艮 supplies the sound.

Open 恨 →

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 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The old form 㝵 showed a hand picking up a cowry, meaning to obtain; later changes turned that picture into 得.

Open 得 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Will & Intention

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.