不可逆

不可逆转 bùkěnìzhuǎn #33,774

irreversible / cannot be turned back / undone

不可使知之 bùkěshǐzhīzhī

cannot be made to understand it / they cannot be made to know the reasons / second half of a controversial line from Confucius' Analects

不可 bùkě #2,135

cannot / must not / should not

不可不察也 bùkěbùcháyě

cannot but be examined / this must not go unexamined / Mencius' emphatic clause demanding careful scrutiny

不可居无竹 bùkějūwúzhú

one cannot dwell without bamboo / no home is complete without a grove of bamboo / Su Shi's declaration on the scholar's essential taste

二者不可得兼 èrzhěbùkědéjiān

the two cannot both be had / (fig.) you have to choose — both options cannot be taken at once / (lit.) two — things — not — can — obtain — together

匹夫不可夺志也 pǐfūbùkěduózhìyě

even a common man cannot be robbed of his will / (fig.) every person, however humble, has an inviolable resolve / (lit.) a common fellow — one cannot seize his will, indeed

士不可以不弘毅 shìbùkěyǐbùhóngyì

a scholar-official must be broad-minded and resolute / a man of learning cannot do without magnanimity and firmness / lit. the scholar cannot not-be broad-and-firm

往者不可谏 wǎngzhěbùkějiàn

the past cannot be remonstrated with / what's done is done — no use in advising it / (lit.) that which has passed, cannot be counselled

不可挽回 bùkěwǎnhuí

irreversible / impossible to undo / beyond rescue