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离不开 (lí bu kāi) — cannot do without; unable to separate from

Definition

离不开 is a separable verb meaning 'cannot do without' or 'unable to separate from' — used for emotional bonds, habitual dependencies, or being tied up by work. Often pairs with people (家人) or things (手机).

verb
cannot do withoutunable to separate from

Examples

  • 离不开，。
    Wǒ lí bu kāi shǒu jī, měi tiān dōu yào yòng tā.
    I can't do without my phone; I use it every day.
  • 离不开。
    Tā cóng xiǎo jiù lí bu kāi mā ma.
    He has been inseparable from his mother since childhood.
  • ，离不开。
    Zuì jìn gōng zuò tài máng, wǒ lí bu kāi bàn gōng shì.
    Work has been too busy lately, I can't get away from the office.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 離; 离 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
隹隹zhuībird
Sound part声符shēngfú
离
离lí離lí
Same sound today

The traditional form 離 pairs 隹, a bird, with the sound part 离; the simplified 离 is a shorthand. This form first wrote a black-naped oriole, and the sound was borrowed for 'leave'.

Open 离 →

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 開; 开 is its simplified writing.

  • 門門méndoor
  • 一一yīlatch and/or wooden pole that shuts a door
  • 廾廾gǒnga pair of hands

The traditional form 開 shows 廾, a pair of hands, and 一, a latch or pole, inside 門, a door: hands opening a latched door. The simplified 开 is a shorthand form, so its parts are not the original pieces.

Open 开 →
Appears in
Abstract Concepts

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