Definition
不由得 means 'can't help but' or 'involuntarily', used when an emotional/physical reaction arises naturally from the situation. Unlike 不禁 (more sudden, spontaneous), 不由得 emphasizes that the reaction is forced by circumstances - you truly have no control. In the pattern 不由得…不… it means 'cannot but', closer to 不得不 but with emotional rather than logical necessity.
adverb
cannot help butinvoluntarily
verb
(pattern, verb) it's inevitable / one has to (in 不由得 someone +不...)
Examples
- ,不由得。Kàn dào tā de biǎoyǎn, dàjiā bù yóu de xiào le qǐlái.Seeing his performance, everyone couldn't help laughing.
- ,不由得。Tā shuō de tài hǎo le, tīngzhòng bù yóu de gǔ qǐ zhǎng lái.He spoke so well that the audience couldn't help applauding.
- ,不由得。Huà dōu shuō dào le zhège fèn shàng, wǒ bù yóu de bú xìn.Since everything has been said to this extent, I can't help but believe it.
Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.