Chinese word

过不去

Pronunciation

Pinyinguò bù qù

Meaning

  • verbcan't get through

Example

这条路太窄，车过不去。zhè tiáo lù tài zhǎi chē guò bú qù

The road is too narrow for the car to get through.

Illustration for 过不去 (can't get through)

More examples

行李太大，门缝过不去。xíng lǐ tài dà mén fèng guò bú qù

The luggage is too big to fit through the door gap.

Core concept

A moving person or thing is stopped because a barrier or narrow passage leaves no usable way forward.

Common phrases

  • 电梯里过不去diàn tī lǐ guò bú qù

    can't get past in the elevator

  • 门缝过不去mén fèng guò bú qù

    can't fit through the door gap

Similar words

卡住kǎ zhù: Become stuck partway because a thing or part cannot move any farther.
碰壁pèng bì: Meet an obstacle and be unable to move forward.
通不过tōng bú guò: Be unable to pass through because the way is too narrow or blocked.
过不来guò bù lái: Be unable to come from the other side to this side.

Definition in Chinese

口语中常用，表示因障碍或尺寸限制导致物体、车辆或人员无法通过某一处。kóu yǔ zhōng cháng yòng biǎo shì yīn zhàng ài huò chǐ cùn xiàn zhì dǎo zhì wù tǐ chē liàng huò rén yuán wú fǎ tōng guò mǒu yí chù

Word origin

过 (guò, "cross") + 不 (bù, "not") + 去 (qù, "go onward") forms a spoken potential pattern, with 不 inserted before the directional complement to show that passage cannot succeed.

Usage tips

  • When a person is the target, the expression can mean deliberately making things difficult for that person rather than describing blocked movement.

Other meanings

  • can't move forwardverb

Opposites

Word lists with this word