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合不来 (hé bù lái) — cannot get along with someone, be incompatible

Definition

A separable verb describing two people whose personalities or temperaments clash — they cannot get along. Contrast with 处不来 (cannot deal with someone) which points to difficulty in handling or interacting, not a personality mismatch.

verb
cannot get along with someonebe incompatible

Examples

  • 合不来，。
    Tā men liǎ hé bù lái, zǒng shì chǎo jià.
    Those two can't get along; they're always arguing.
  • 合不来。
    Wǒ hé tā de xìng gé hé bù lái.
    His personality and mine don't mesh.
  • 合不来。
    Xīn lái de tóng shì gēn shuí dōu hé bù lái.
    The new colleague can't get along with anyone.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

合héget along
不来not come
不bùnot来láicome
偏正Modifier + head

合 means get along, 不 means not, and 来 adds a coming-together sense, giving cannot get along.

Characters in this word

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

合 shows 亼 and 口 arranged as two mouths speaking together.

Open 合 →

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 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 來; 来 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 來 shows a wheat plant: a central ear, upward leaves, and downward stem and roots. The simplified 来 is a later shorthand.

Open 来 →
Appears in
Conflict & AgreementFriends & Social

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