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怪不得 (guài bu de) — (adverb) no wonder; so that's why; (verb) cannot blame; be not to blame

Definition

Used when you suddenly realize the reason — 'no wonder, so that's why.' Meaning is identical to 难怪; 怪不得 is more colloquial and often follows the explanation in a sentence.

adverb
no wonderso that's why
verb
cannot blamebe not to blame

Examples

  • 怪不得，。
    guài bu de Tā jīn tiān zhè me gāo xìng, yuán lái shì yīn wèi kǎo shì tōng guò le.
    No wonder he is so happy today — it's because he passed the exam.
  • 怪不得，。
    Zhè jiàn shì guài bu de tā, shì dà jiā méi yǒu shuō qīng chǔ.
    He can't be blamed for this — everyone didn't explain clearly.
  • 怪不得，。
    guài bu de Zuì jìn zǒng shì xià yǔ, yuán lái tái fēng yào lái le.
    No wonder it's been raining so much lately — a typhoon is coming.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

怪guàiblame
不得cannot
不bùnot得décan
偏正Modifier + head

怪 (blame) and 不得 (cannot) combine to say there is nothing to blame, hence no wonder.

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xīn
Sound part声符shēngfú
圣
圣shèng怪guài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

怪 is built from 忄, a form of 心, which relates to mind or feeling, and 圣, which gives the sound.

Open 怪 →

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 →

Grammar

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 5Cause, Effect & Logic

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