Definition
自拔 is a formal, literary verb meaning 'to extricate oneself'. In everyday Chinese it is almost always used in the negative construction 不能自拔 (bù néng zì bá) to describe a state one cannot free oneself from — an obsession, an addiction, a bad habit, or a difficult situation. The affirmative form is rare; you should memorize the phrase 不能自拔 as a set expression.
v.
to free oneselfto extricate oneself (usually in the negative 不能自拔)
Examples
- ，自拔。Tā xiànrù le shēn shēn de wǎngluò yóuxì chéngyǐn, wúfǎ zì bá.He fell into a deep online game addiction and couldn't extricate himself.
- ，。Tā wèi nà duàn gǎnqíng tòngkǔ bùkān, jīhū bù néng zì bá.She was so miserable over that relationship that she could hardly free herself from it.
- 自拔。Zhè zhǒng yōuyù de qíngxù ràng tā nányǐ zì bá.This melancholic mood made it hard for him to pull himself out of it.
Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.