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迫不得已 (pò bù dé yǐ) — to have no choice but to (do something reluctantly); to be forced to (against one's will)

Definition

An idiom meaning 'had no choice but to' — emphasizes reluctance and being forced by circumstances. Stronger and more literary than the everyday 没得选 or 不得不, which simply state compulsion without the sense of unwillingness.

idiom
to have no choice but to (do something reluctantly)to be forced to (against one's will)

Examples

  • 迫不得已。
    Tā pò bù dé yǐ cái shuō le huǎng huà.
    He only lied because he had no other choice.
  • 迫不得已。
    Gōng sī pò bù dé yǐ cái diào le yí bù fen yuán gōng.
    The company was forced to lay off some employees.
  • 迫不得已，。
    Wǒ zhè yàng zuò shì pò bù dé yǐ de, qǐng nǐ lǐ jiě.
    I did this because I had no choice — please understand.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辶Written in full as辵chuò
Sound part声符shēngfú
白
白bái迫pò
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The form 迫 pairs the walking radical 辶 (written in full as 辵) with 白, which gives the sound.

Open 迫 →

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 →

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

The shape of 已 may originally have been a drawing of either a snake or a fetus.

Open 已 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set PhrasesWill & Intention

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