Chinese word

禁不住

Pronunciation

Pinyinjīn bù zhù

Meaning

  • verbcan't help

Example

看到宝宝睡得这么香，我禁不住笑了。kàn dào báo bǎo shuì de zhè me xiāng wǒ jīn bú zhù xiào le

Seeing the baby sleep so soundly, I couldn't help laughing.

Illustration for 禁不住 (can't help)

More examples

看到旧照片，她禁不住回忆起往事。kàn dào jiù zhào piān tā jīn bú zhù huí yì qǐ wǎng shì

Seeing old photos, she couldn't help recalling the past.

Core concept

An attempt to hold something in fails, allowing emotion or movement to emerge naturally and making an intense experience too hard to withstand.

Common phrases

  • 禁不住笑出声jīn bú zhù xiào chū shēng

    can't help laughing out loud

  • 禁不住流泪jīn bú zhù liú lèi

    can't help shedding tears

  • 禁不住感动jīn bú zhù gǎn dòng

    can't help feeling moved

Similar words

情不自禁qíng bú zì jīn: Strong feelings overflow and bring about a natural, uncontrolled response.
不由得bù yóu de: A reaction happens without deliberate thought or conscious control.
忍不住rěn bú zhù: A strong urge cannot be restrained and results in an unintended action or remark.

Definition in Chinese

不能抑制自己做某事，情感或动作自然而然发生。bù néng yì zhì zì jǐ zuò mǒu shì qíng gǎn huò dòng zuò zì rán ér rán fā shēng

Word origin

禁不住 (jīnbùzhù, "can't help") is formed from 禁 (jīn, "restrain") and 不住 (bùzhù, "not hold"), giving the useful image of something that cannot be held back.

Usage tips

  • The word commonly introduces an immediate response such as laughing, crying, or sighing, rather than a deliberate act, which helps separate it from ordinary statements about choosing to act.

Other meanings

  • be unable to endureverb

Opposites

Word lists with this word