Meaning of 舍不得
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to hate to do sth
- to hate to part with
- to begrudge
How to use 舍不得
Use 舍不得 when you are reluctant to part with a person or thing, or when you hate to spend money or effort on something. It can take a noun or a verb after it. Example: 我舍不得你走。(Wǒ shěbude nǐ zǒu.) I hate to see you leave.
舍 (shě) means to let go or give up, and 不得 (bude) means "cannot manage to." So 舍不得 is literally "cannot bring yourself to let go," like holding on to something you love.
Common mistake: Learners often say shè with the fourth tone. In 舍不得 it is third tone shě, because 舍 (shè) as a noun means a house or dorm, as in 宿舍 (sùshè). Also remember 不得 is unstressed here: shěbude, not shě bù dé.
舍不得 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.
舍 shě · house · 8 strokes
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不 bù · no · 4 strokes
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得 dé · to obtain · 11 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 舍不得.
| 觉得 | juéde | to think that ...; to feel that ...; to feel (uncomfortable etc) |
| 对不起 | duìbuqǐ | I'm sorry; excuse me; I beg your pardon; to let (sb) down; to disappoint |
| 得到 | dédào | to get; to obtain; to receive |
| 是不是 | shì bu shì | is or is not (used to form yes-no questions) |
| 不用 | bùyòng | need not |
| 记得 | jìde | to remember |
| 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 |
Questions about 舍不得
What does 舍不得 mean?
舍不得 (shěbude) means "to hate to do sth; to hate to part with" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 舍不得?
舍不得 is made of 3 characters: 舍 (8 strokes), 不 (4 strokes), 得 (11 strokes). That is 23 strokes in total.
Is 舍不得 an HSK word?
Yes. 舍不得 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 舍不得 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 舍不得 is written 捨不得.
What is the opposite of 舍不得?
The opposite is 舍得 (shěde), meaning willing to part with or not grudging something. For example, 他很舍得花钱 (Tā hěn shěde huā qián) means he does not mind spending money.
Can 舍不得 describe being stingy?
Yes. 舍不得花钱 (shěbude huā qián) means unwilling to spend money. It can sound frugal or a bit stingy depending on context, but it often just shows that something feels too precious to use up.