Meaning of 忍不住
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- cannot help
- unable to bear
How to use 忍不住
忍不住 is usually followed by a verb to show you did something you could not stop yourself from doing, like laughing or crying. It often appears with 想 or 要 before the action. Example: 他忍不住笑了。(Tā rěn bu zhù xiào le.) He couldn't help laughing.
忍 (rěn) means to endure, 不 (bù) means not, and 住 (zhù) means to hold firm in place. If you cannot hold your endurance in place, you cannot help doing something.
Common mistake: Learners often say 不忍住 to mean "can't help it." The correct word order puts 不 in the middle, as in 忍不住. Also, 不 here is light and toneless (bu), so do not stress it with a full fourth tone.
忍不住 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
忍 rěn · to bear · 7 strokes
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不 bù · no · 4 strokes
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住 zhù · to live · 7 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 忍不住.
| 对不起 | duìbuqǐ | I'm sorry; excuse me; I beg your pardon; to let (sb) down; to disappoint |
| 是不是 | shì bu shì | is or is not (used to form yes-no questions) |
| 不用 | bùyòng | need not |
| 记住 | jìzhù | to remember; to bear in mind |
| 不大 | bù dà | not very (clear, far away etc); not too; not often; infrequently |
| 不对 | bùduì | incorrect; wrong |
| 不客气 | bù kèqì | you're welcome; don't mention it |
| 不要 | bùyào | don't!; must not |
| 不过 | bùguò | only; merely |
| 不错 | bùcuò | correct; right |
| 不行 | bùxíng | won't do; be out of the question |
| 不同 | bù tóng | different; distinct |
Questions about 忍不住
What does 忍不住 mean?
忍不住 (rěn bu zhù) means "cannot help; unable to bear".
How do you write 忍不住?
忍不住 is made of 3 characters: 忍 (7 strokes), 不 (4 strokes), 住 (7 strokes). That is 18 strokes in total.
Is 忍不住 an HSK word?
Yes. 忍不住 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the opposite of 忍不住?
The positive form is 忍得住 (rěn de zhù), meaning "able to hold back." It is mostly used in questions or contrasts, such as 你忍得住吗? (Can you hold it in?).
How is 忍不住 different from 不禁 (bùjīn)?
Both mean "can't help doing something." 不禁 is more formal and mostly written, while 忍不住 is common in everyday speech. 忍不住 can also stand alone, as in 我忍不住了 (I can't take it anymore).