p8nda
p8nda BETA
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不了

bùliǎo
verb

Meanings

  1. 1 cannot; unable to (do something)
  2. 2 cannot finish (doing something)
  3. 3 without end; endlessly

Examples

HSK 2
这么多菜，我们吃不了。
Zhème duō cài, wǒmen chī bùliǎo.
There's so much food we can't finish it.
HSK 4
他病得很重，明天去不了学校了。
Tā bìng de hěn zhòng, míngtiān qù bùliǎo xuéxiào le.
He's quite ill and won't be able to go to school tomorrow.
HSK 4
一到年底，公司里就忙个不了。
Yí dào niándǐ, gōngsī lǐ jiù máng ge bùliǎo.
Come the end of the year, the office is busy nonstop.

Tips

grammar
Verb + 不了 says the action cannot happen at all; with 个 in between it says it goes on and on. Several have become words of their own: 受不了 'can't stand it', 免不了 'unavoidable', 少不了 'indispensable', 大不了 'at worst'.
mistakes
Here 了 is 'to finish, to manage'. A polite 'no thanks' is 不 + the particle 了: 不了，谢谢 'no, thanks'.

Stroke Order

不 bù
了 le